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US military plane declares mid-air emergency over UK

Published 11:14 9 Mar 2026 GMT

Updated 11:43 9 Mar 2026 GMT

Harry Warner
US military plane declares mid-air emergency over UK

Homenews

The plane was the second most tracked in the world on Flightradar24

A US military plane has declared a mid-air emergency over the UK.

The Boeing KC-135T Stratotanker, which is a military adaption of the Boeing 707, left from RAF Mildenhall at 09:53 this morning.

The plane flew out across East Anglia and over the North Sea, before doing a number of loops before heading back to the UK.

During the flight, the plane squawked 7700, meaning to declare a mid-air emergency.

The plane has since landed back at RAF Mildenhall after doing a number of loops.

It is not known yet the reason for declaring a mid-air emergency, although these kind of incidents are fairly common and could be anything from a technical issue to a sick member of personnel.

Article imageLogo Camera in article

The Boeing KC-135T Stratotanker is an American military aerial refuelling tanker aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner.

The plane was the second most tracked in the world on Flightradar24 at the time of flying.

You can see a playback of the route here.

Updates to follow.

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