Pentagon Releases Names of Six Airmen Killed in Iraq Stratotanker Crash
The aircraft went down in friendly airspace around 2 p.m. ET, with a second KC-135 involved in the incident landing safely. U.S. Central Command ruled out hostile or friendly fire, and an investigation is ongoing.
Tommy Flynn
The Pentagon released the names of the six U.S. Air Force members killed when a KC-135 Stratotanker crashed in western Iraq on March 12, 2026, during a support mission for Operation Epic Fury amid the U.S.-Iran conflict.
The aircraft went down in friendly airspace around 2 p.m. ET, with a second KC-135 involved in the incident landing safely. U.S. Central Command ruled out hostile or friendly fire, and an investigation is ongoing. This raises the U.S. death toll in the conflict to 13.
The deceased include:
- Tech Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, from Bardstown, Kentucky; assistant flight chief and boom operator with the 99th Air Refueling Squadron, Birmingham, Alabama; nearly 900 combat flight hours; survived by husband Gregory and two young children.
- Maj. John A. “Alex” Klinner, 33, from Birmingham, Alabama; chief of squadron standards and evaluations at Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base; pilot with 362 combat hours; survived by wife Libby and three young children.
- Tech Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28, from Columbus, Ohio; boom operator with the 166th Air Refueling Squadron, Ohio Air National Guard; 230 combat hours.
- Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31, from Covington, Washington; pilot and chief of current operations with the 99th Air Refueling Squadron; over 300 combat hours.
- Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38, from Stoutsville, Ohio (also noted as Mooresville, Indiana); instructor pilot with the 121st Air Refueling Wing, Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base; more than 2,000 flight hours, including 443 in combat.
- Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30, from Columbus, Ohio (also noted as Wilmington, Ohio); pilot with the 166th Air Refueling Squadron; 880 flight hours, including 67 in combat.
U.S. Air Force Col. Ed Szczepanik, commander of the 6th Air Refueling Wing, said: “To lose a member of the Air Force family is excruciatingly painful… To lose them at the same time is unimaginable.” Maj. Gen. Matthew S. Woodruff, Ohio adjutant general, described the Ohio airmen as “remarkable Airmen whose service and commitment embodied the very best of our Ohio National Guard.”
The KC-135, used for in-flight refueling, medical evacuations, and surveillance, is a key asset in U.S. operations, with the Air Force operating 376 such aircraft.