A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker crashed in western Iraq on March 12 while supporting Operation Epic Fury, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
According to CENTCOM the crash occurred in friendly airspace and involved two aircraft. One aircraft went down in western Iraq, while the second aircraft landed safely. Officials stated that the incident was not caused by hostile fire or friendly fire. Rescue efforts were still ongoing at the time of the announcement.
U.S. officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine that it remains unclear whether there were fatalities, as the situation was still developing.
According to officials, the second aircraft that landed safely was also a KC-135 Stratotanker. Flight-tracking data indicated that a KC-135 operating from Israel declared an in-flight emergency on March 12, though the U.S. military has not confirmed whether that aircraft was part of the same incident.
An unofficial Facebook page, Air Force amn/nco/snco, posted a photograph that it claimed showed the second aircraft after landing. The image appeared to show that a significant portion of the aircraft’s tail was missing, but Air & Space Forces Magazine reported that the authenticity of the photograph has not been independently confirmed.
The crash marks the fourth crewed aircraft lost during operations connected to Operation Epic Fury, though none have been attributed to Iranian forces. On March 1, three U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle fighters were shot down in a friendly-fire incident involving Kuwaiti F/A-18 aircraft.
Additionally, at least 10 MQ-9 Reaper drones have been shot down during the conflict, according to previous reporting.
The KC-135 Stratotanker, which first entered service in the 1960s, remains a key aerial refueling aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. The fleet’s average aircraft age is over 66 years, and tankers have been heavily used during Operation Epic Fury to refuel fighters, bombers, and support aircraft.
Other casualties related to the operation include six U.S. soldiers killed in an Iranian strike in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, and one soldier killed at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. The Pentagon said about 140 service members have been injured, though most have returned to duty.
Another service member, a New York National Guard soldier, died at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, in what officials described as a health-related incident. In a separate attack in the Kurdistan region of Iraq on March 12, one French service member was killed and several others wounded, according to French President Emmanuel Macron.
