{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":300,"width":600,"title":"Episode #119: KC-135 Stratotanker Down in Operation Epic Fury","description":"\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Episode 119 \u2013 When Tankers Collide: A Hard Day for the KC-135 Community. Welcome to Episode 119 of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast. I\u2019m your host, Mark Hasara \u2014 retired Air Force KC-135 pilot, Weapons Officer, and a veteran of four wars. For over 60 years, aviation has been my passion. I spent my career flying the KC-135 Stratotanker around the world, supporting combat missions and doing the job most people never see: Passing gas to airplanes in the middle of the night\u2026 in the middle of a war. If you\u2019re watching the news about air operations around Iran, what you\u2019re seeing today was once my mission. But I\u2019m posting this episode with a heavy heart. Two KC-135s operating from Ben Gurion International Airport were involved in what early reports say was a mid-air collision during a routine night mission. One tanker made it back to base with massive damage\u2014half of its vertical tail gone. The other aircraft crashed in the western desert near Ar Rutbah, Iraq. The wreckage has been found. All six crew members onboard are confirmed no longer with us. When news like this breaks in the tanker community, the phones start ringing. The texts and emails come in from pilots, crew chiefs, and aviation fans around the world. It\u2019s VERY rare for a KC-135 goes down during refueling missions. But when one does, everyone asks two questions: What do KC-135 tankers actually do? And how could two tankers collide in what people call \u201cfriendly airspace\u201d? In this episode, I break it down in plain language. I\u2019ll walk you through how air refueling missions work, what tanker crews deal with every night in combat zones, and my professional thoughts on what may have happened during this mission in Operation Epic Fury. Air wars run on fuel. And the crews who fly those missions \u2014 and sometimes die doing them \u2014 deserve to have their stories told. If you love aviation, military flying, and the real stories behind the headlines, this episode will give you a look inside a world very few people understand. Hundreds of aircraft flying in a small area consuming ten to fifteen million pounds of fuel in a single day. A\ud83d\udee9\ufe0f Sponsor Highlight \u2013 Wall Pilot Aviation Art Support for this show comes from Wall Pilot\u2014your source for high-quality vinyl aircraft profile art. Choose from over 160 ready-to-print designs or get your own jet custom-drawn with your name on the canopy, accurate loadout, and unit markings. Perfect for your home, office, squadron walls, or hangar\u2014these 4, 6, and 8-foot aircraft prints bring history to life. \ud83c\udfaf Custom profiles: https:\/\/wallpilot.com\/custom-planes \ud83c\udf96\ufe0f Join the All Ranks Club on Patreon Want behind-the-scenes access to this kind of high-level content? Join the All Ranks Club on Patreon and unlock: \ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Group Q&A sessions \ud83e\udded Private Zoom calls with me \ud83c\udf7a Virtual Bar Nights\u2014aviation stories, war updates, and real talk \u2708\ufe0f Monthly 7-inch aircraft profile stickers\u2014exclusive collector\u2019s series! \ud83d\udd17 Join the squadron here: https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/c\/lessonsfromthecockpit\/membership \ud83c\udf81 Gift a membership to the aviation nut in your life: https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/lessonsfromthecockpit\/gift This type of massive operation cannot happen without the airborne gas stations. I talk a lot about tankers and air refueling, because the truth is simple: Nobody Kicks Ass Without Tanker Gas\u2026 NOBODY! \u2708\ufe0f ","author_name":"Lessons From The Cockpit","author_url":"https:\/\/lessonsfromthecockpit.show\/","html":"