United States Central Command (CENTCOM) has confirmed the death of four crewmembers of a downed refuelling jet that collided with another aircraft on Thursday. Four people have died and a further two are missing after two USAF KC-135 air refuelling tankers collided in the skies over Iraq around 2pm Eastern Time on Thursday. CENTCOM first reported the loss on Thursday afternoon and stated it was down to an incident between two aircraft, one of which was “lost” over Iraq and the other which managed to “land safely”.
An Iraqi group claimed to have shot down the aircraft with a missile after the news broke, but this was denied by the U.S. which stated from the first that the incident didn’t involve either enemy action or friendly fire. “Rescue efforts continue” for the two remaining crew, they said. The identities of the dead are being withheld until their families have been contacted. While CENTCOM stated the circumstances of the incident are being investigated, some details have emerged. Images of a KC-135 tanker missing a large part of its vertical tail, including rudder and stabiliser, that is said to have landed in Tel Aviv yesterday have been published.
