The names of two of the six U.S. service members who died when the military refueling plane they were traveling in crashed over Iraq last week were made public Saturday, revealing a recently promoted father and a beloved son.
The Ohio Air National Guard said three of the service members were from its 121st Air Refueling Wing in Columbus, while a family from Birmingham, Alabama, confirmed that pilot Alex Klinner died in the crash.
The Pentagon, which has not yet formally identified the six service members, has said the loss of the KC-135 Stratotanker was not caused by hostile or friendly fire.
The family said Klinner, 33, had recently been promoted to major and had been deployed for less than a week. His brother-in-law, James Harrill, said Klinner leaves behind three young children: 7-month-old twins and a 2-year-old son.
“It’s kind of heartbreaking to say: He was a really good father and he really loved his family a lot,” Harrill told the Associated Press.
“Over the last 24 hours, my family has experienced unimaginable loss,” Harrill said in a post on Instagram. “He was the kind of man who made everyone around him feel stable and secure. A devoted husband, an incredible father, and someone who lived with a quiet strength and humility that is difficult to put into words.”
He added: “The pain is deep, but so is the pride. Alex served his country with bravery and conviction, and the way he loved his family was even more extraordinary.”
The Ohio Air National Guard’s 121st Air Refueling Wing said in a Facebook post Friday night that three of the dead were service members who served with the Columbus-based unit.
“We share the pain of their loved ones and must not forget the valuable contributions these Airmen made to their country and the impact they have left on our organization,” according to the post.
Another service member who died in the crash was named Sergeant Tyler Simmons of Columbus, Ohio, by his mother, Cheryl Simmons, who said she was making plans for her son’s funeral.
In a statement obtained by WCMH-TV in Columbus, Tyler Simmons’ family said they were extremely saddened to learn 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 grieving the loss of life,” they said.
US Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said the crash occurred in western Iraq on Thursday following an unspecified incident involving two planes in “friendly airspace.” The other tanker involved in the incident landed safely in Israel.
The crash brings the U.S. death toll from Operation Epic Fury to at least 13 service members, with the other seven killed in combat. About 140 U.S. service members have been injured, eight of them seriously, the Pentagon said earlier this week.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the lost aircrew as heroes.
“War is hell. War is chaos,” Hegseth said at a news conference Friday. “And as we saw yesterday with the tragic crash of our KC-135 tanker, bad things can happen. American heroes, all of them.”
The KC-135 has been in service for more than 60 years. In civilian terms, this is the Boeing 707 airliner, retired from US passenger service in 1981. The tanker has been involved in several fatal accidents, most recently in 2013, in Central Asia.
It is used for air refueling, but can also be deployed to transport injured personnel during medical evacuations or conduct surveillance missions. According to the Congressional Research Service, last year the Air Force had 376 KC-135s, including 151 in active service, 163 in the Air National Guard and 62 in the Air Force Reserve.
While details of the incident are not yet public, questions are being asked about why it is believed no parachutes were issued to the air crew.
A 2008 news release from an aerial refueling unit said the Air Force was parachuting KC-135s, noting that it was statistically safer to stay with the aircraft, “especially when flying over enemy territory.”
“Removing parachutes from military aircraft may seem peculiar, but the KC-135 is not like other aircraft,” the press release states. “They rarely have mishaps, and the likelihood that a KC-135 crew member will ever need to use a parachute is extremely low.”
