Four crew members have been confirmed dead after a US military refuelling aircraft crashed in western Iraq.
In a statement on Friday, the United States central command
said the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker went down at about 2pm eastern time on
March 12 during operations in the region.
“Four of six crew members on board the aircraft have been
confirmed deceased as rescue efforts continue,” the statement reads.
The military said investigations are underway to determine
the cause of the crash.
“However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile
fire or friendly fire,” the statement said.
Officials added that the identities of the victims would
remain undisclosed until 24 hours after their families had been formally
notified.
According to US Air Force officials, investigators suspect
the crash may have been caused by a midair collision, though the exact
circumstances remain unclear.
The aircraft crashed in a largely remote desert area in
western Iraq.
Air-to-air refuelling missions such as those conducted by
the KC-135 are routine for US Air Force pilots and accidents are considered
rare.
However, the manoeuvre can be technically demanding,
particularly in difficult weather conditions or strong winds.
The incident marks the fourth loss of a manned aircraft
since the launch of Operation Epic Fury, a US military operation that began in
late February.
None of the crashes have been attributed to hostile Iranian
fire.
Earlier in March, three F-15E strike eagle jets were downed
in a friendly fire incident involving Kuwaiti F/A-18 hornet aircraft.
The last time a US tanker aircraft crashed was in 2013, when
a KC-135 conducting refuelling missions over Afghanistan went down shortly
after departing Manas airport in Kyrgyzstan.
Three airmen were killed in that accident.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com