DEVELOPING: KC-135 Refueling Plane Goes Down in Iraq
This is a developing story.
A U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft has gone down in Western Iraq.
Recovery efforts are underway.
Right now, it is not believed that the crash was caused by hostile or friendly fire.
Here’s what we know so far:
U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT CRASH — WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR:
– Two KC-135 refueling aircraft involved
– One crashed in western Iraq
– The second landed safely in Israel
– Six people were aboard the crashed aircraft
– Search and rescue operations underway
– Incident not caused by hostile…— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) March 12, 2026
U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT CRASH — WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR:
– Two KC-135 refueling aircraft involved
– One crashed in western Iraq
– The second landed safely in Israel
– Six people were aboard the crashed aircraft
– Search and rescue operations underway
– Incident not caused by hostile or friendly fire
CENTCOM released this statement:
U.S. Central Command is aware of the loss of a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft. The incident occurred in friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury, and rescue efforts are ongoing. Two aircraft were involved in the incident. One of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the…
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 12, 2026
U.S. Central Command is aware of the loss of a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft. The incident occurred in friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury, and rescue efforts are ongoing. Two aircraft were involved in the incident. One of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely.
This was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.
At this time, the status of the 6 crew members who were onboard the aircraft remains unknown.
CBS News has the latest update:
Recovery efforts are underway in the area where a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker crashed. The status of the crew is unknown at this time. A second Stratotanker was damaged but landed safely.
The first plane went down near Turaibil, which is along the Iraqi-Jordanian border, an Iraqi intelligence source told CBS News.
According to flight tracking service FlightRadar24, a KC-135 tanker declared an emergency before landing in Tel Aviv Thursday evening.
U.S. Central Command released a statement Thursday afternoon saying both aircraft were involved in the same incident, and it was not caused by hostile fire or friendly fire.
This marks the fourth publicly acknowledged aircraft to crash as a part of Operation Epic Fury. Last Monday, the U.S. military also confirmed that three F-15E Strike Eagles were downed in a friendly-fire incident involving Kuwait, but all six crew members safely ejected.
Please pray for all six of our service members who were on board that aircraft.
We’ll continue to bring you updates as they come in.