Pictures showing damage to the tail stabiliser of a US KC-135 refuelling aircraft went viral on social media on Friday. The damaged aircraft was involved in Thursday's mid-air collision in "friendly" Iraqi airspace.
Media reports suggested that a US military KC-135 aircraft had gone down in Iraq on Thursday, following which rescue operations were launched to find the plane and the crew members.
The US Central Command said that the incident took place in Iraq's friendly airspace amid military movement in Operation Epic Fury. "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, released Thursday evening.
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Today, images of the damaged second aircraft have gone viral on social media, with several news outlets also sharing them. The damaged KN-135 has since landed at the Ben Gurion Airport in Israel and is docked there. The pictures show that the aircraft has sustained serious damage to its tailplane.
The cause of the mid-air collision, which caused one of the aircraft to crash and caused damage to the second, is yet to be ascertained. The officials, however, have ruled out a firing incident as a probable cause.
"This was not due to hostile or friendly fire. More information will be made as the situation develops," CENTCOM said in its statement. This is the second incident since the beginning of this war, on February 28, in which American aircraft have been damaged.
At the beginning of the war, the US military lost three F-15 fighter jets in Kuwait. Following the crash, videos and pictures of the crash overwhelmed the internet.
CENTCOM had maintained back then that the aircraft were shot down by Kuwaiti air defences during active combat, adding that the fire was "friendly" and "mistaken".
In a statement, released after the F-15's were brought down, CENTCOM said that the crew members had ejected safely from their respective aircraft. "Kuwait has acknowledged this incident, and we are grateful for the efforts of the Kuwaiti defence forces and their support in the ongoing operation."
CENTCOM had yet to release a detailed statement on Thursday's incident, and the cause of the mid-air crash remains unknown.
Also Read: Did Kuwait Shot Down America's F-15E Strike Eagles Aircraft? Here's What US Says
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