Event Brief
SR-71 loses nose section after collision with tanker
By The BriefBrief · Sources (1)
Filed: Sep 14, 2026 at 12:00 PM ET
Summary: On June 17, 1970, SR-71 Blackbird Majors Buddy Brown and Mort Jarvis were testing electronic jamming equipment when the aircraft collided with a KC-135Q tanker during refueling over El Paso. Brown reported the nose section was gone forward of the cockpit and the canopy caved in, but both crewmen ejected and survived.
WHO: Majors Buddy Brown and Mort Jarvis; KC-135Q tanker crew (not named)
WHAT: SR-71 Blackbird collided with its KC-135Q tanker during an aerial refueling hookup, losing its nose section; both crewmen ejected and survived.
WHEN: Jun 17, 1970
WHERE: Over El Paso, Texas, USA
WHY: The collision occurred during the second refueling contact when the SR-71 bumped and the nose pitched down into the underside of the tanker; the cause of the bump is not reported.
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