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Robert Wall
March 13, 2026
Credit: Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images
U.S. Central Command (Centcom) said at least four of six crew on a KC-135 that crashed during Operation Epic Fury have died.
The aircraft went down in western Iraq on March 12. “Rescue efforts continue,” Centcom said March 13.
Another KC-135 was involved in the accident. It landed at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. Images of the aircraft show the top of its horizontal stabilizer missing.
“The circumstances of the incident are under investigation” Centcom said March 13, reaffirming the prior-day’s statement that it was not linked to hostile or friendly fire.
The accident marks the first loss of life in an aircraft during flight operations since the war began. It also represents the fourth American aircraft lost as part of the ongoing operation, after a Kuwaiti Air Force F/A-18 shot down three U.S. Air Force F-15Es in the early stages of the conflict.
