Aircraft Drops Part of Its Boom Mid-Flight

On August 21, a KC-46A Pegasus from McConnell Air Force Base had an incident while refueling an F-15. The cause and scope of the mishap are under investigation.

The tanker involved is a part of the 931st Air Refueling Wing. After the incident, units commented that the aircraft declared an emergency near Travis Air Force Base in California. They were able to execute a landing with the boom still down.

Details on the incident have yet to be released, though the 931st noted that a ‘portion’ of the boom broke off and landed near the base.

Potential photos of the aftermath have been circulating on Facebook. They show some pretty substantial damage to the bottom half of the boom and tail of the aircraft, which could mean trouble for the F-15 being refueled. These remain unconfirmed by the 931st.

The Travis field was temporarily shut down while personnel responded to the scene. It has since been reopened, and no injuries were reported.

“Our Airmen are not only primed to respond at a moment’s notice, they are also capable of navigating and preventing further danger during an emergency,” stated Col. Cynthia Welch, 931st Air Refueling Wing commander.

The KC-46 has been involved in numerous refueling mishaps, with the last occurring merely two months ago. In this, the pilot of the involved F-16 stated that there was a “chunk taken out of its spine due to a too close breakaway incident.” The tanker, also operated by the 931st, sustained damage and was unable to refuel. The case remains under investigation.

The Air Force is working with Boeing to solve the refueling system dilemma. The fly-by-wire system currently being used has several deficiencies, specifically regarding the Remote Vision System and loss of depth perception.

With the lack of insight into the cause and state of the affected F-15, the upcoming accident report will surely be interesting.

FMI: www.931arw.afrc.af.mil