A Kyrgyzstan Tu-154 passenger airplane hit a US Air Force KC-135—wing tip to wing tip—at Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan, as the Tu-154 was taking off and the KC-135 was taxiing from the runway following its refueling mission. The USAF tanker caught fire, but the three crewmen aboard escaped without injury. According to a USAF release, the Kyrgyz aircraft continued its takeoff but then made an immediate emergency landing. No one on the airliner was injured. A joint investigation is underway.
Gene Smith, Former POW and AFA Chair, Dies at 91
Jan. 19, 2026
Lt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith, who overcame five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the notorious Hanoi Hilton from 1967 until 1973, died Jan. 16. He was one day short of his 91st birthday.
