Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker

- On 26 September 2006, a USAF KC-135R, 63-8886, was damaged beyond economical repair when it was struck by a Tupolev 154 of Altyn Air EEX-85718) while stopped on a taxiway after landing at Manas Airbase. The Tu-154 was taking off and its right wing struck the fairing of the KC-135R No. 1 engine. The force of the impact nearly severed the No. 1 engine, but destroyed a portion of the left wing and the resulting fire caused extensive damage to the KC-135. The Tu-154 lost about 6 feet of its right wingtip, but was able to get airborne and return to the airport for an emergency landing. The tanker crew had been directed to use a taxiway which was not usable for night operations and the controller failed to note that they reported "holding short" of that taxiway, rather than "clear of" that point. The crew of the KC-135 evacuated the aircraft without serious injuries.
- On 3 May 2013, a Fairchild AFB, WA (USAF) KC-135R, 63-8877, crashed about 8 minutes after taking off from Manas Airbase in Kyrgyzstan, killing three crew members. The aircraft was at cruise altitude about 200 km west of Bishkek when it lost altitude and crashed in a mountainous area near the village of Chorgolu, close to the border between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Videotape evidence seems to indicate that the fuselage was in flames as it descended from the clouds overhead, although the tail and some wreckage (left wing, vertical stablizer, one engine, boom and boom drogue adapter) were not blackened by fire and landed some distance away. This may indicate an inflight explosion or structural failure, possibly related to thunderstorms in the area. l Although one of the last -135 aircraft built, this airframe was 48 years and 10 months old at the time of its loss.