Crashed KC-135 Crew From Fairchild AFB

May 6, 2013 7:25 AM
Capt. Mark Voss, Tech Sgt. Herman Mackey III and Capt. Victoria A. Pinckney were killed when their KC-135 went down in Kyrgyzstan on Friday.
Capt. Mark Voss, Tech Sgt. Herman Mackey III and Capt. Victoria A. Pinckney were killed when their KC-135 went down in Kyrgyzstan on Friday.

The Air Force has identified three crewmembers of a KC-135 refueling tanker that crashed Friday in Kyrgyzstan, according to a Sunday Pentagon release.

The crewmembers — assigned to the 93rd Air Refueling Squadron, Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash. — are:
Capt. Mark T. Voss, 27, of Colorado Springs, Colo., Capt. Victoria A. Pinckney, 27, of Palmdale, Calif., and Tech Sgt. Herman Mackey III, 30, of Bakersfield, Calif.

The three were onboard the KC-135 when it went down about 100 miles west of the U.S. Transit Center at Manas on Friday near the village of Chaldovar, according to Pentagon officials.

Witnesses told the Associated Press the plane exploded in the air Kyrgyzstan state media reported crash debris was scattered over a half-mile radius

The plane the trio was flying was assigned to the 22nd Air Refueling Wing based at McConnell Air Force Base, Kan.

On Friday, Air Force officials told USNI News it was standard procedure for different crews to man planes from other units.

Air refueling tankers have operated out of Manas since 2001 in support of the air war over Afghanistan.

The KC-135 has been in service since the late 1950s and is among the oldest U.S. Air Force airframes currently in service.

Sam LaGrone

Sam LaGrone

Sam LaGrone is the editor of USNI News. He has covered legislation, acquisition and operations for the Sea Services since 2009 and spent time underway with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the Canadian Navy.
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