The US Central Command on Thursday said a KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed in Iraq in an apparent accident involving another tanker.
“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,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
CENTCOM said the aircraft was part of the operation against Iran but that the incident was “not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.”
It added that more information would be made available “as the situation develops.”
The second tanker involved in the incident landed at Ben Gurion Airport earlier in the evening. The aircraft had sent a “squawk code” of 7700, an international emergency signal, according to flight tracking data.
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It wasn’t immediately clear if there were any casualties. Both US President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have warned that the Iran war would likely claim more American lives before it ends.
KC-135s, which have been in operation for more than 60 years, generally have a crew of three — a pilot, a copilot and a third who operates the boom used to refuel other aircraft, according to the US Air Force. But some KC-135 missions require a navigator, and the aircraft can carry up to 37 passengers, an Air Force factsheet said.
US Air Force refueling aircraft are seen parked on the tarmac of the Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on February 25, 2026. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)
The tanker is the fourth publicly acknowledged aircraft to crash as part of the US military’s operations against Iran. Last week, the military confirmed that three American fighter jets were mistakenly downed by friendly Kuwaiti fire.
All six crew members safely ejected from the F-15E Strike Eagles and were in stable condition after being recovered, the US said.
Seven American troops have been killed in combat during the Iran war so far. Six of the service members were killed when an Iranian drone struck an operations center at a civilian port in Kuwait. The seventh died after being wounded during an attack on the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
About 140 US service members have been wounded, including eight severely, the Pentagon said earlier this week.
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