A United States KC-135 refueling plane crashed recently over western Iraq. According to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), four of the six crew members aboard lost their lives in the crash that happened around 2 p.m. EST. There were reportedly two planes involved in the incident. One of them had a safe arrival, while the other crash-landed.
CENTCOM also clarified that the crash was “not the result of hostile or friendly fire.” Apart from the six crew members, the aircraft was carrying jet fuel. A rescue operation was launched immediately after the crash.
The Boeing-manufactured aircraft, the size of a passenger plane, was carrying fuel to be used in the ongoing conflict with Iran. Such tankers are particularly useful, as they hold the capacity to refuel planes midair. These have exclusively been used by the U.S. military in previous large-scale conflicts.
According to the BBC, Boeing manufactured this specific Stratotanker for the U.S. military during the 1950s and early 1960s. The KC-135 has helped the U.S. military carry out long military missions without having to land for refueling.
The U.S. military’s Central Command said Friday that at least 4 U.S. service members were killed the previous day when an aerial refueling aircraft taking part in operations against Iran crashed in western Iraq. Rescue efforts were still underway for two other crew members. pic.twitter.com/pBVMH9YUvy
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 13, 2026
Commenting about the deaths of the crew members, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “War is hell. War is chaos. And as we saw yesterday with the tragic crash of our KC-135 tanker, bad things can happen. American heroes, all of them… We will greet those heroes at Dover. Their sacrifice will only recommit us to the resolve of this mission.”
Gen. Dan Caine discussed the crash during a news conference, “The incident occurred over friendly territory in western Iraq while the crew was on a combat mission and again was not the result, as CENTCOM has said, of hostile or friendly fire.”
“We’re still treating this as an active rescue and recovery operation. As CENTCOM announced this morning, four airmen have been recovered, and the Air Force and US Central Command will provide updates as information becomes available. Please keep these brave airmen and their families, friends, and units in your thoughts in the coming hours and days,” Caine added.
⚠️ 🇺🇸 🇮🇱 🇮🇷 Four U.S. Air Force service members were killed when a KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq on March 12, 2026, during Operation Epic Fury, the ongoing U.S. military campaign targeting Iranian regime assets and proxies alongside Israel.…
— Joe (@LTSmash420) March 13, 2026
Earlier this month, three F-15s were shot down over Kuwait. The U.S. military has now lost at least four aircraft in the ongoing war. The crash brings the official death toll of the U.S. soldiers killed in the conflict with Iran to 11.
An Israeli broadcaster has published an image of the surviving aircraft at an Israeli airport. The aircraft suffered damage to its tail. Iran continues to target oil facilities, U.S. bases and city centers in Gulf nations.
