Background
On 15 October 2022 at 1313:46 Zulu, a KC-46A Pegasus (tail number 15-046069) assigned to the 305th Air Mobility Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, was conducting routine air refueling operations with an F-15E Strike Eagle (tail number 87-0192) assigned to the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina.
Sequence of Events
During the refueling, a breakaway maneuver was initiated. The Aerial Refueling Boom (ARB) experienced a nozzle binding event, where the nozzle became stuck in the receiver aircraft's receptacle. The binding forces exceeded the structural limitations of the ARB. When the nozzle released, the boom moved rapidly upward and struck the tail cone of the KC-46A.
Cause
The accident investigation determined one cause: a limitation of the ARB control system led the boom operator to inadvertently apply a radial force on the boom, causing the nozzle to bind in the receptacle. The resulting forces exceeded the boom's structural limits, leading to the strike.
Contributing Factors
Two factors substantially contributed to the mishap. First, the failure of Mishap Pilot 1 to alert the other pilot and the boom operator to an engine power reduction on the KC-46A. Combined with a known ARB stiffness limitation and the high engine power setting on the F-15E, this caused a rapid forward movement of the F-15E relative to the KC-46A. Second, a limitation of the automated boom control system caused the ARB to enter an uncontrollable state during its upward motion, disabling control laws that could have slowed the rate at which it struck the tail cone.
Damage
The total monetary value of government loss was approximately $8,307,257.93. Damage included the ARB, tail section components, and other aircraft parts.