Israel and Iran

They now say the Beale plane was a KC-135RT , those are refuelable in the air, so I'm guessing the mid-air happened during refueling and that it probably was a Beale (Reserve) crew.

Photo's from Israel earlier showed a flight line full of Guard 135's, praying for the families.
Speculation I'm hearing was a near head-on mid-air with a third tanker ~10 miles in trail. We'll see. 🤷
 

You're not going to get much news on that subject. But it's safe to say the other side knows already. Also, Iranian missiles cross right over Iraq on the way to Israel.

Yes, there's been many strikes on Iranian backed militias. There is some video circulating on Instagram etc.
 
Speculation I'm hearing was a near head-on mid-air with a third tanker ~10 miles in trail. We'll see. 🤷

Awful time for the families and friends of the crew right now.

I haven't seen anything on a third tanker being involved, but it's waaaaayyyy early yet.

I haven't been in the aerial refueling NATOPs for a while but I can't imagine they've changed all that much. The type of rendezvous used--if altitudes and offsets are not strictly followed--can lead to head-on setup. I've seen that myself--tanker blew by us off our right wing one night, co-altitude and not 1000 feet of lateral separation, never saw us and we were lit up like a Christmas tree. Ten miles isn't all that much room with a 200kt overtake or a 600kt closure.

And, as always, it's better to let the preliminary investigation take place. This happening during combat operations adds a whole other layer of complexities.
 
Awful time for the families and friends of the crew right now.

I haven't seen anything on a third tanker being involved, but it's waaaaayyyy early yet.

I haven't been in the aerial refueling NATOPs for a while but I can't imagine they've changed all that much. The type of rendezvous used--if altitudes and offsets are not strictly followed--can lead to head-on setup. I've seen that myself--tanker blew by us off our right wing one night, co-altitude and not 1000 feet of lateral separation, never saw us and we were lit up like a Christmas tree. Ten miles isn't all that much room with a 200kt overtake or a 600kt closure.

And, as always, it's better to let the preliminary investigation take place. This happening during combat operations adds a whole other layer of complexities.
Concur. I don't think the third tanker was directly involved, but rather witnessed the contact.

But, as you said, let's wait and see what the investigation finds.
 
Turbulance?

Sort of, there's a term our aviators know. I don't want to give you bad info. Control inputs, disrupted airflow, etc. can produce a runaway scenario if they aren't countered properly. I'll defer to our pilots on this one, but I do know the AWACS example above isn't unheard of. It's a "thing" for tankers.
 
Sort of, there's a term our aviators know. I don't want to give you bad info. Control inputs, disrupted airflow, etc. can produce a runaway scenario if they aren't countered properly. I'll defer to our pilots on this one, but I do know the AWACS example above isn't unheard of. It's a "thing" for tankers.
A load shift causing the drop or rise? At Air Assault School at Schofield Barracks East Range, I learned a smidge about that. But nothing like this for Jet or turboprop cargo birds.
 
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A load shift causing the drop or rise? At Air Assault School at Schofield barracks East Range, I learned a smidge about that. But nothing like this for Jet or turboprop cargo birds.

There is a video on YouTube of a Navy C-2 that had a load shift aft on catapult from carrier, couldn't get lift, fell ass-first into the sea from several hundred feet. Made me a believer and glad I never had the responsibility of a loadmaster.
 
Sort of, there's a term our aviators know. I don't want to give you bad info. Control inputs, disrupted airflow, etc. can produce a runaway scenario if they aren't countered properly. I'll defer to our pilots on this one, but I do know the AWACS example above isn't unheard of. It's a "thing" for tankers.
Pilot induced oscillation

From what I’ve read, not likely on the most recent one, was the issue in the video you posted.
 
3 of the KC-135's dead are from the 121st ARW, Ohio ANG.

As I type this the nightly conga line of tankers is departing Ben Gurion with 8 so far.
Trump weighed in on Truth Social about the tankers in Saudi Arabia.

Yet again, an intentionally misleading headline by the Fake News Media about the five tanker planes that were supposedly struck down at an Airport in Saudi Arabia, and of no further use. In actuality, the Base was hit a few days ago, but the planes were not “struck” or “destroyed.” Four of the five had virtually no damage, and are already back in service. One had slightly more damage, but will be in the air shortly. None were destroyed, or close to that, as the Fake News said in headlines. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal (in particular), and other Lowlife “Papers” and Media actually want us to lose the War. Their terrible reporting is the exact opposite of the actual facts! They are truly sick and demented people that have no idea the damage they cause the United States of America. Fortunately, as proven by our Great and Conclusive Election Win in 2024, the People of our Country understand what is happening far better than the Fake News Media! President DONALD J. TRUMP

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/116227789768118115
 
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