BISHKEK, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Authorities at a U.S. airbase in Kyrgyzstan on Thursday blamed a Kyrgyz air traffic controller for an incident in September when a Kyrgyz aircraft hit a U.S. military plane on the ground.

However, the actions of U.S. staff at the base also came under criticism in the Russian-language statement.

It said investigators had concluded that the Kyrgyz controller allowed the Russian-made TU-154 aircraft to take off before making sure the U.S. KC-135R had cleared the runway.

The Kyrgyz plane, with 61 people on board, ripped off part of the other plane's wing, then took off briefly before making an emergency landing, Kyrgyz officials said at the time.

The U.S. plane had been trying to turn off the runway when the collision took place. Its wing caught fire but firefighters extinguished the blaze. No one was injured in the incident.

"Despite the fact that...the incident was caused in the first instance by the (Kyrgyz) air traffic controller's actions, the U.S. KC-135R crew...were responsible for making sure that after landing KC-135R cleared the runway," the U.S. base said in its statement.

"The incident could have been avoided had all of them had a better grasp of the situation."

Last month, the Kyrgyz deputy transport minister said the U.S. side was to blame for violating flight security.

Earlier this year, the United States and Kyrgyzstan agreed on terms to carry on using the base after months of tense talks. The United States uses it for operations in Afghanistan.

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