The March 12 fatal crash of a U.S. military KC-135 refueling aircraft supporting air strikes on Iran was the first accident involving that type of plane since a 2013 crash in Kyrgyzstan during U.S. military operations in Afghanistan.
The U.S. Central Command said on Friday that that all six crew members on a KC-135 that went down in western Iraq had died, and that the aircraft was lost while flying over “friendly airspace,” and was not downed by hostile or friendly fire. U.S. military officials previously said two aircraft were involved in the incident, and that the second one landed safely.
An investigation into the crash is underway as U.S. and Israeli aircraft continue intense attacks on targets in Iran, which has retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel and other countries. Shipping has been disrupted in the Strait of Hormuz, driving up global energy prices.
Thirteen years ago, the United States was engaging in military operations against Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan when a KC-135 tanker crashed soon after taking off from Manas air base in Kyrgyzstan, killing all three crew members on board.
The crash occurred on May 3, 2013. On March 14 of the following year, the U.S. Air Force released the results of an investigation into the fatal accident.
“A unique combination of six factors — flight control malfunctions, insufficient crew force training, incomplete crew checklist response, use of rudder while in a Dutch roll condition, crew composition, and cumbersome procedural guidance — all came together during the flight’s short 11-minute duration and resulted in this accident,” the investigation report said.
It described a Dutch roll as “a more dangerous oscillatory instability” that followed initial instability causing the plane’s nose to drift from side to side.
In 2006, a Kyrgyz airliner that was taking off from Manas accidentally struck a KC-135 tanker aircraft that had landed after a mission in Afghanistan and was awaiting instructions from the control tower. There were no injuries on the Kyrgyz plane, and one of the three KC-135 crew members suffered abrasions while evacuating from the refueling aircraft.
Between 2001 and 2014, the U.S. Air Force operated a logistics hub at Manas, near Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan.
