BEagle: the AWACS has one (E-3) but my first few probes into my usual info pile hasn't confirmed KC-135 so equipped. Will dig a bit deeper, it may not.

EDIT:

The answer is that they probably do, and AIRINC did the install sometime in the late 90's early 2000's. My source is text of a lawsuit by L-3 that they were fighting the decision to give the contract to AIRINC. 90% odds the answer to you question is: Yes.

This Stratotanker is one of the newer ones. From Fiscal year 1963.

There are some 1964 ones, and they are the very 'newest' examples.

They've been rebuilt (more than once) and re-engined since the sixties but I think there's a fair chance that their sheer age might be starting to show.

IF, it was an inflight breakup- of this very sturdy design- there wont be many that are surprised.

I swa one in D-M once with 'Stone Age Mutant Ninja Tanker' nose art. :ok:.

I could understand that. (It was a 1955 model though...)

KC-135 Facts...
 

1) The KC-135 has both a FDR and CVR.
2) Normal crew of three
3) No parachutes since 2007ish
4) The Aircraft is a McConnell Tail. However, it could have been crewed with pilots and booms from the the 30 or so tanker bases in the US, Europe, and Asia. Expect that informoration as soon as thier families are notified.

Menas metar reported CB activity at the time of the crash. RIP and thoughts to all involved.

USAF Kc135 crash Bishkek
 

Isn't this the airframe the RAF bought to replace the Nimrod that's half the 707's age , another quality government decision if it does turn out to be fatigue !!

Thoughts with family and friends of the crew

USAF Kc135 crash Bishkek
 

And another bit of quality news reporting on sky news app under world news, shows a pic of, and also claims to have been a herc ;-)

According to this broadcast/article the crew was from Fairchild AFB. They also say they have not located the cockpit yet. From the photos it sure looks like it's pretty much in a small heap. Seeing reports of midair breakup possible.

Plane from McConnell AFB crashes in Kyrgyzstan - kwch.com

I know the 707 did, but does the E-3 and KC-135 carry a Flight Engineer as normal minimum crew?

E3-yes

KC135 -no

Just This Once said on here: "The wing appears to have a recognised pattern of damage not connected with its impact with the ground."

Activity Stream - Military Photos said: "according to witnesses plane was flying low and burning, then it exploded in midair and disintgrated into three parts."

BBC BBC News - Bodies of two US pilots found after Kyrgyzstan crash said: "Witnesses said they saw the plane, believed to have been laden with fuel at the time, explode in mid-air."

Two crew bodies recovered...
 

More from Associated Press: BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan: Bodies of 2 US crew found at Kyrgyzstan crash site - World Wires - MiamiHerald.com

...........The KC-135 plane crashed Friday afternoon about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of the air base that the U.S. operates in Kyrgyzstan to support military operations in Afghanistan..................

................Residents of the rural, sheep-herding region described hearing the plane explode in the air and seeing it break apart as it fell.
"I heard a very loud explosion," Emil Bokochev, a member of the village council, told an AP reporter at the site. "Literally six or seven seconds afterward there was another explosion and the plane broke apart into four or five pieces and at that moment we thought it was going to fall on the village Chaldovar."....................

Mr Dash: thank you, sir.

Latest pictures: :{

Missing fuel tank cap?
 

In post 10, there is a link to a military photo forum with this post: Reports of USAF KC-135 crashing near Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

If you look closely, the fuel tank cap is missing with a fuel stain around the hole. When the tank cap is correctly installed, the cap locks into place and is impossible to remove unless you intend to do so. The locking lugs appear to be undamaged. I wonder if a cap wasn't installed correctly.

RIP to the crew.

RIP and Heart Felt Sympathy To Families
 

Lets hope they find out quickly what happened and are able to fix the problem.

Slight thread drift, but with the KC135 being late 50's-early 60's vintage, how did they get rid of the Flight Engineers panel? Disperse the systems panels around the pilot positions?

Back to the thread, if this comes out to be in any way related to the age of the airplane (50 years!!!), that would probably have significant implications for the US military, still having hundreds of KC135s flying.

WHAT ABOUT OTHERS
 

The MoD are just about to try and get RTS for the Nimrod R replacement.

Timing could not be worse!

After 40 odd posts there seems to be an acknowledgement of there having been an in-flight break-up and various speculations as to the cause. CAT, fatigue or simple old age.

No one has voiced the possibility of there having been a bomb planted in the ac. What is security like on the ground and what chance is there that an un-wanted "package" was place on board?

MB

Would the plane have been within the envelope of a MANPAD?

Salafists in Syria have access to Chinese FN-6 missiles with a range of about 6km and a max altitude of about 3.5km. Also SN-24 missiles with possibly similar capabilities.

So...inventory of possible causes....

Bomb
Manpad
Wing Spar Failure
Fuel Tank Explosion
Loss of Control
Mid-Air Collision
Meteor Shower
Turbulence

What did I miss?