4 of 6 crew members on KC-135 air refueling tanker confirmed dead

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The U.S. military on Friday said that all six crew members of a KC-135 military refueling plane that crashed a day earlier while flying over western Iraq have been confirmed as dead.

“The circumstances of the incident are under investigation,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement. “However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.”

The identities of the crew members are being withheld until 24 hours after their next of kin have been notified, Central Command said.

Earlier, Central Command said two aircraft were involved. The second landed safely, Central Command added.

“The incident occurred in friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury,” Central Command said Thursday, referring to the war against Iran, which led to retaliatory strikes by Tehran across the Middle East.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/13/us-kc135-crash-iraq-iran-threats-shipping-attacks.html

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