US KC-135 Crashes In Western Iraq During Iran Ops; Crew Status Unknown
A U.S. military refueling aircraft went down in western Iraq on March 12 during Operation Epic Fury against Iran, with rescue efforts currently underway according to CENTCOM officials who confirmed the incident occurred within friendly airspace and was not caused by hostile or friendly fire while a second unidentified plane involved landed safely but remains unaccounted for regarding its status.
Key Points
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1A US military KC-135 aerial refuelling plane crashed over western Iraq on Thursday.
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2Rescue operations have been launched by authorities following the crash of a second aircraft involved in an incident with another vehicle.
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3"The" U.S. Central Command stated that no hostile or friendly fire was responsible for bringing down "the US military's KC-135 refuelling plane."
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4Officials confirmed there are currently unreported deaths, but they have not yet released the status of all crew members on board.
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5A second unidentified aircraft participated in an incident with a U.S. tanker and subsequently landed safely.
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6"The" crash occurred during Operation Epic Fury while US forces were conducting operations against Iran.
Developments
Perspectives
A US military KC-135 aerial refuelling plane crashed over western Iraq on Thursday (March 12) as part of an operation against Iran. The incident involved another aircraft that landed safely.
— [Mar 12, 08:46] U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker supporting Operation Epic Fury crashes in Western Iraq after refueling incident involving two aircraft (Airandspaceforces)The crash was not the result of hostile or friendly fire and occurred during an operation against Iran.
— [Mar 12, 08:46] U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker supporting Operation Epic Fury crashes in Western Iraq after refueling incident involving two aircraft (Airandspaceforces)'The status of the crew is unknown' according to multiple US officials who spoke on CBS News.
— [Mar 12, 08:46] U.S. military plane goes down and rescue underway as 'status of crew remains uncertain', sources say (CBSNews.com)'Rescue efforts are ongoing after the incident' in western Iraq involving a US refueling aircraft.
— [Mar 12, 08:46] U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker supporting Operation Epic Fury crashes in Western Iraq (Airandspaceforces)'No deaths have been reported so far' but the incident involved two planes with one landing safely.
— [Mar 12, 08:46] U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker supporting Operation Epic Fury crashes in Western Iraq (Airandspaceforces)