Originally Posted by
Liffy 1M
I checked the detailed listing of C-135 losses in the definitive book on the type, Robert S Hopkins III's "Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker: More than a Tanker" and virtually all losses were in circumstances where crew egress at altitude was not an issue, e.g. CFIT, take-off or landing incidents or ground losses such as fires or explosions. There was one collision between two aircraft over the Atlantic but as only wreckage was found, it's impossible to say more. The 2013 loss over Kyrgystan is also discussed but, as the empennage had departed the aircraft, the author considers the parachute issue to be moot. He was himself a C-135 pilot and flew seventeen different variants of the type.
The photograph below is from the Robert Hopkins book mentioned above.
