Pentagon identifies six airmen killed in plane crash in Iraq
A squadron operations chief who had recently earned her wings as a pilot, a major overseeing flight training for dozens of airmen, and a young boom operator remembered for his “million-dollar smile” were among six US Air Force airmen killed when an aircraft crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, the Pentagon said.
The Pentagon identified the airmen on Saturday, as the crash remains under investigation.
The airmen are 33-year-old Maj. John A. Klinner of Auburn, Alabama; 31-year-old Capt. Ariana G. Savino of Covington, Washington; 34-year-old Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt of Bardstown, Kentucky; 38-year-old Capt. Seth R. Koval of Mooresville, Indiana; 30-year-old Capt. Curtis J. Angst of Wilmington, Ohio; and 28-year-old Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons of Columbus, Ohio.
The crew members’ deaths bring the number of US troops killed in connection to the war with Iran to 13.
Klinner, Savino and Pruitt were assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. All three served with the 99th Air Refueling Squadron, a geographically separated unit based at Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base in Birmingham, Alabama.
“They were not only outstanding Airmen. They were our neighbors – our fellow Alabamians. May their service and that of their families never be forgotten,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said on X.
Koval, Angst and Simmons were assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus, Ohio.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he is mourning all of the airmen alongside the rest of the state, including those who were elite members of the Ohio Air National Guard.
They were trained to “transfer fuel from one plane to another in midair, and their work was critical in long-distance missions in defense of our nation. Every mission they undertook involved risks that they were willing to take and the courage to put the lives of others above their own. They served with honor,” DeWine wrote on X.
The crew members were aboard a US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft when it crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, the US military said, adding that the incident was “not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.”
A previous statement said two aircraft were involved in an incident over western Iraq while operating during Operation Epic Fury, the name the Pentagon has given for the war with Iran. The statement said the second aircraft landed safely.
The KC-135 allows aircraft to refuel in the sky to remain in a battle zone for longer. The jets can also be configured to carry cargo and medical patients. The Air Force did not say what mission the jets involved in Thursday’s incident were performing.
Maj. John “Alex” Klinner
Klinner was “more than a serviceman,” leaving behind his wife, Libby Klinner, and their young children – a 2-year-old and 7-month-old twins, according to a GoFundMe page organized to raise funds to support his family following his death.
“He was a devoted husband, a loving father, and the kind of person who would quietly step in to help anyone who needed it. He embodied what it means to be a servant leader,” the fundraiser says.
Klinner served as a major in the Air Force for eight years and was recently deployed on March 12 to support Operation Epic Fury, according to the GoFundMe page.
“If his death means anything – if any of their deaths mean anything – then please, do not look away,” his aunt Jean Marie Dillon shared in a Facebook post. “His name was Major Alex Klinner, and he mattered.”
Klinner was the 99th Air Refueling Squadron’s chief of standardization and evaluation, overseeing training and flight proficiency for more than 30 aircrew members as an evaluator pilot, according to the Air Force. He deployed multiple times during his career, including in support of operations in Europe and the Middle East.
