Pilot Honors Three Ohio Air National Guardsmen Killed in Refueling Tanker Crash in Iraq

A thoughtful aviation enthusiast paid tribute to three service members of Ohio Air National Guard on March 19, days after they were among six killed in a refueling tanker’s crash in western Iraq. Captain Seth Koval, Captain Curtis Angst, and Master Sergeant Tyler Simmons were supporting the US government’s “Operation Epic Fury” on March 12, when a KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed at about 2 pm, according to the US Central Command. “The aircraft was lost while flying over friendly airspace,” the central command said, and the accident remained under investigation. Major John Alex Klinner of Auburn, Alabama, Captain Ariana G. Savino of Covington, Washington, and Technical Sergeant Ashley B. Pruitt of Bardstown, Kentucky, also died in the crash. The Ohio National Guard and the 121st Air Refueling Wing paid tribute to Koval, Angst, and Simmons. This footage from Flightradar24 shows a pilot drawing a service member and three headstones in their flight path on March 19, to honor the Ohio guardsmen.