US military names 6 crew members killed on refueling plane that crashed in Iraq

The Pentagon on Saturday released the identities of six US crew members killed during the crash of a refueling aircraft in western Iraq earlier this week, which authorities said was not caused by “hostile fire.”

The KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, bringing the number of US troops killed in operations against Iran to at least 13. A second aircraft involved in the operation landed safely in Israel.

The Pentagon said the six members killed in the crash were: John A. Klinner, 33, of Auburn, Alabama, referred to in some reports with the first name “Alex”; Ariana Savino, 31, of Covington, Washington; Ashley Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Kentucky; Seth Koval, 38, of Mooresville, Indiana; Curtis Angst, 30, of Wilmington, Ohio; and Tyler Simmons, 28, of Columbus, Ohio.

The first three were members of the US Air Force, while the latter three were stationed with the US Air National Guard.

The crash remains under investigation, Pentagon officials said, but US Central Command previously stated that “the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.”

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which is a loose alliance of Iran-backed Iraqi factions, claimed to have downed a KC-135. They also said they had targeted another plane that escaped.

Since the start of the war, the alliance has been claiming daily attacks on US interests in Iraq and across the region.

Klinner, 33, leaves behind three small children: 7-month-old twins and a 2-year-old son, his brother-in-law, James Harrill, said Saturday while confirming his death.

“It’s kind of heartbreaking to say: He was just a really good dad and really loved his family a lot — like a lot,” Harrill said.

An outdoorsman who enjoyed hiking, Klinner was also ready to help others. When Harrill last saw him in January, Klinner had shoveled Harrill’s vehicle out of the snow during a family wedding.

“Alex was one of those guys that had this steady command about him,” said Harrill, of Atlanta, who helped set up a GoFundMe site for Klinner’s family. “He was literally one of the most kindest, giving people.”

Klinner, a graduate of Auburn University and an eight-year US Air Force veteran from Birmingham, Alabama, had just moved with his family into a new home, his wife, Libby Klinner, said in an Instagram post mourning his death.

She said her heart is broken for their children, who will grow up not knowing their father.

“They won’t get to see firsthand the way he would jump up to help in any way he could,” she wrote. “They won’t see how goofy and funny he was. They won’t witness his selflessness, the way he thought about everyone else before himself. They won’t get to feel the deep love he had for them.”

Simmons was a boom operator responsible for transferring fuel from the tanker to the receiving aircraft, according to his Air Force biography.

His mother, Cheryl Simmons, said Saturday that she was making funeral plans for her son.

In a statement obtained by WCMH-TV in Columbus, Tyler Simmons’ family said it was saddened beyond measure to hear of the fatal crash.

“Tyler’s smile could light up any room, his strong presence would fill it. His parents, grandparents, family and friends are grief stricken for the loss of life,” they said.

The Ohio National Guard said Koval was an aircraft commander with 19 years of service. A graduate of Purdue University, he served in the Indiana National Guard before transferring to an Ohio unit in 2017, according to his Air Force biography.

Angst was a pilot with 10 years of service who graduated from the University of Cincinnati, according to his Air Force biography provided by the Ohio National Guard.

The KC-135 crash is at least the fourth US military aircraft lost during the war, after three F-15s were shot down by friendly fire over Kuwait.

KC-135s, which have been in operation for more than 60 years, generally have a crew of three — a pilot, a copilot and a third who operates the boom used to refuel other aircraft, according to the US Air Force.

But some KC-135 missions require a navigator, and the aircraft can carry up to 37 passengers, an Air Force factsheet said.

Early in the war — which began on February 28 — Kuwaiti forces mistakenly downed three American F-15E fighters, but all six crew members were able to eject, according to CENTCOM.

That incident occurred during combat including “attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones,” the military command said at the time.