Summary
- Piece of KC-135 Stratotanker operated by Metrea Aerospace falls into lagoon near Ewa Beach.
- Metrea Aerospace states it delivers air-to-air refueling solutions for DoD under-resourced requirements.
- Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, in service since 1957, is still vital in US Air Force aerial refueling despite being replaced.
A trailing flap of a Metrea Aerospace KC-135 fell from an aircraft flying over Ewa Beach in Hawaii. Metrea Aerospace is a civilian contractor that operates Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers. While this incident was from a civilian-operated tanker, the United States Air Force operates a larger strategic tanker fleet than the rest of the world combined. In-air refueling is a key part of how the US Air Force is able to project air power around the world. The KC-135 Stratotanker has been a core part of the US aerial refueling capability for many decades now.
Piece of Metrea Aerospace-operated KC-135 Stratotanker falls into lagoon
The Hawaiian news outlet Khon 2 reported that the incident happened at around 18.00 on Thursday evening. Witnesses reported seeing the tanker aircraft part fall inside the lagoon near Kapilina Beach Homes in Ewa Beach. No one was hurt by the falling piece of aircraft.
Photo: USAF
“Officials said it was a trailing edge flap from a Metrea Aerospace KC-135 aircraft, which is an aerial refueling aircraft, weighs approximately 60 pounds and is about 15 feet long.” – Khon 2
Residents retrieved the Stratrotanker trailing edge flap from the water, and later, it was taken by the civilian contractor, Metrea Aerospace.
According to an Aviation Week article, Metrea Aerospace refueled its first two US Air Force aircraft in late June 2023. This was the Air Force’s first air-to-air refueling from a commercial service provider. The article also stated that the KC-135Rs owned by Metrea were acquired from the Republic of Singapore Air Force.
The aging Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is still a mainstay of the US Air Force aerial tanker fleet. It was developed alongside the Boeing 707 airliner from the Boeing 367-80 prototype. It entered service as the Air Force’s first jet-powered refueling tanker and was initially used to refuel Air Force strategic bombers. It has been in service in the US Air Force since 1957 and is gradually being replaced by the new Boeing KC-46 Pegasus.
Related
What Is Hot Pit Refueling? The USAF Is Adding Dozens Of These Rapid-Fuel Sites
The Air Force is not only expanding where it can hot-pit refuel the KC-135 Stratotanker but also other kinds of aircraft (such as the F35).
Metrea Aerospace
The KC-135 Stratotanker that lost its flap was not an Air Force-operated tanker; it was operated by civilian contractor Metrea Aerospace. Metrea Aerospace states that it provides “solutions to the toughest problems in national security, leveraging commercial business models to unleash innovation cycles that anticipate emerging threats.”
Metrea Aerospace states that using their four KC-135R aircraft, they deliver “commercial air-to-air refueling (AAR) solutions to meet US Department of Defense customers’ under-resourced refueling requirements; other customers can be supported through the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Program.”
Photo: US Air Force
Metrea’s four Stratotankers are equipped with wing two wing-mounted Multi-Point Refuelingg System pods that can refuel probe-equipped Navy, Marine Corps, and Allied aircraft.