KC-135 Crashes in Iraq, Killing Six

Refueling tanker was not brought down by hostile or friendly fire, according to CENTCOM.

Zach Vasile

Friday, March 13, 2026 at 09:05 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

A KC-135 Stratotanker [Credit: U.S. Air Force]

Key Takeaways:

A U.S. KC-135 tanker aircraft crashed in western Iraq, resulting in the deaths of all six people on board.
The incident involved another airplane, which landed safely, and was not caused by hostile or friendly fire.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has launched an investigation into the cause of the crash.
This marks the fourth U.S. crewed aircraft lost since February 28, though this specific crash was not attributed to hostile action.

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A U.S. KC-135 tanker aircraft crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, killing all six people on board.

In a statement, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said the Stratotanker went down around 2 p.m. ET in an incident involving another airplane. The other aircraft landed safely.