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.
An Air Force F-16 pilot designed a collapsible ladder that weighs just six pounds and folds into the unused cockpit map case.