Staff and wire report

Three Ohioans are among the six killed last week in a crash of their refueling plane in western Iraq in a combat mission in the war in Iran, U.S. officials said.

They were assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus. They were identified by federal and state officials as Capt. Seth Koval, 38; Capt. Curtis Angst, 30; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28.

The U.S. government listed Koval from Mooresville, Indiana, while the Ohio National Guard listed his home as Stoutsville, Ohio. The Ohio National Guard listed both Angst and Simmons from Columbus, while the U.S. government listed Angst as from Wilmington, Ohio.

The aircraft was in “friendly” airspace, supporting operations against Iran, when an unspecified incident involving another aircraft occurred, according to U.S. Central Command. The other plane landed safety, U.S. military officials said.

Three other people killed in the crash had been assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida and who Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said were stationed in Birmingham.

One of them had just been promoted to major in January and had been deployed less than a week when the refueling aircraft he was aboard crashed.

Alex 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.

On Saturday, the U.S. government identified the other two stationed at McGill as Capt. Ariana Savino, 31, of Covington, Washington; and Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Kentucky.

DEWINE ORDER

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Saturday ordered U.S. and Ohio flags to be flown at half-staff on all public buildings statewide until sunset on the day of their funerals to honor the three Ohio Air National Guard members.

He also offered his and first lady Fran DeWine’s condolences in this statement he released over the weekend:

“Fran and I join the rest of our state and nation in mourning the tragic deaths of three elite airmen from the Ohio Air National Guard’s 121st Air Refueling Wing in Columbus. Capt. Seth Koval, Capt. Curtis Angst, and Tech. Sgt. Tyler Simmons 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. We offer our deepest condolences to their families, as well as to the families of Maj. John A. Klinner, Capt. Ariana G. Savino, and Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt from Alabama, who died alongside them. Their sacrifice will not be forgotten.”

OHIO VICTIMS

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.

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.

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. A man with a ready smile