'Radiant' mother from Kentucky among 6 US service members who died in
air crash in Iraq
[March 16, 2026]
By MARK SCOLFORO
A woman raising two children was among the six U.S. service members
killed last week when a refueling plane involved in the war with Iran
crashed in western Iraq.
Tech Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, hailed from a large family in Bardstown,
Kentucky, and was “very, very” proud of her military career, her husband
Gregory Pruitt said Sunday.
“I’ll give you something brief -– in a word, radiant,” he said on a
phone interview, trying to hold back tears. “If there was a light in the
room, she was it.”
Survivors include the couple’s 3-year-old daughter and Sgt. Pruitt's
stepson.
Most recently, she had served with the 99th Air Refueling Squadron from
Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base in Birmingham, Alabama. She was
an assistant flight chief of operations and was an instructor in
operating the boom of a KC-135.
Pruitt joined the military nine years ago and had previously deployed
overseas three times. She had nearly 900 combat flight hours and two
associate degrees from the Community College of the Air Force.
Crash in friendly airspace
The U.S. military late Saturday identified Pruitt and the other five
crash victims, three connected to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill
Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, and Sumpter Smith; the other three
were out of an Ohio Air National Guard base in Columbus.
“To lose a member of the Air Force family is excruciatingly painful,
especially to those who know them as son, daughter, brother, sister,
spouse, mom, or dad," said U.S. Air Force Col. Ed Szczepanik, commander
of the 6th Air Refueling Wing, in a news release. “To lose them at the
same time is unimaginable.”
Maj. Gen. Matthew S. Woodruff, the Ohio adjutant general, called the
three from Columbus "remarkable Airmen whose service and commitment
embodied the very best of our Ohio National Guard. Their impact on their
teammates and our mission will not be forgotten.”
The aircraft was in “friendly” airspace, supporting operations against
Iran, when an unspecified incident involving another aircraft occurred
on Thursday, according to U.S. Central Command. The other plane landed
safety, U.S. military officials said. The crash is being investigated.
The KC-135 aircraft refuels other planes in midair, allowing them to fly
longer distances and sustain operations without landing. The plane also
can be used to transport wounded personnel and conduct surveillance
missions, according to military experts.
The Congressional Research Service says the Air Force last year had 376
KC-135s, including 151 on active duty, 163 in the Air National Guard and
62 in the Air Force Reserve. It has been in service for more than 60
years.
A new father and a new major
Maj. John A. “Alex” Klinner, 33, had just been promoted to major in
January and had been deployed less than a week when the crash occurred,
his brother-in-law said.
The pilot left behind three small children: 7-month-old twins and a
2-year-old son, according to his brother-in-law, James Harrill.
Klinner was a graduate of Auburn University and an eight-year U.S. Air
Force veteran from Birmingham, Alabama. He had just moved with his
family into a new home, his wife Libby Klinner said in an Instagram post
mourning his death.
He was the chief of squadron standards and evaluations at the Birmingham
air base.
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.”
Libby Klinner said in a post that 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.”
He deployed four times since 2019 and had put in 362 combat hours and
181 combat support hours.
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This image provided by the family shows Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt.
(Family photo via AP)
A man with a ready smile
Tech Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28, served with the Ohio Air National
Guard's 166th Air Refueling Squadron as 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, who lived in Columbus.
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.
Simmons joined the Air Force in 2017 and earned an associate degree
from the Community College of the Air Force. He became a refueling
specialist in 2022 and was made a technical sergeant in 2023. He
deployed three times in the past decade and had 230 combat hours.
Pilot with Birmingham, Alabama, squadron
Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31, was a pilot with the 99th Air Refueling
Squadron, serving as its chief of current operations. She was
responsible for the flying hour program and managing daily flight
scheduling, among other duties.
Savino, from Covington, Washington, was a product of the Air Force
Reserve Officer Training Corps program at Central Washington
University, earning an active duty commission in 2017.
She served at bases in Georgia and Mississippi and had more than 300
combat hours. She was made captain in 2021.
A captain with more than 2,000 flight hours
Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38, was an instructor pilot for the KC135R
Stratotanker with 19 years of service, according to the Ohio
National Guard.
A resident of Stoutsville, Ohio, Koval was an aircraft commander
with the 121st Air Refueling Wing out of Rickenbacker Air National
Guard Base in Columbus. The military said he had trained pilots in
air refueling, aeromedical, cargo and passenger operations.
A statement from the U.S. government said Koval was from
Mooresville, Indiana.
Koval had a bachelor's degree in aviation operations from Purdue
University and deployed five times in the past 12 years. His
assignments included stops in Indiana, Ohio, Alabama, Texas an
Oklahoma.
Koval had more than 2,000 flight hours, including 443 in combat, the
Ohio Guard said. He was promoted to captain in 2022.
Degree in aerospace engineering
Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30, was in the military for a decade after
getting a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from the
University of Cincinnati. He enlisted in the Ohio Air National Guard
in 2015, with deployments in 2015 and this year.
Angst was a KC-135R pilot with the 166th Air Refueling Squadron and
lived in Columbus. A statement about his death from the federal
government indicated he was from Wilmington, Ohio.
He had 880 flight hours, including 67 combat hours. Angst was
promoted to captain in November.
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