US names six crew killed in refuelling plane crash in Iraq

BBC News - WorldCenterEN 2 min read 100% complete March 15, 2026 at 09:08 AM

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medium article 2 min

The US military has identified the six crew members killed in the KC-135 refuelling plane crash in western Iraq on Thursday. The deceased were John Klinner, Ariana Savino, Ashley Pruitt, Seth Koval, Curtis Angst, and Tyler Simmons, representing both Air Force personnel and National Guard members. The plane was on a combat mission supporting US operations against Iran when it crashed in friendly airspace near the Iraqi-Jordanian border. While the cause is still under investigation, US officials suggest a possible midair collision, dismissing hostile fire. The crash brings the US military death toll in the ongoing US-Israel war with Iran to 13, with other casualties reported in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and at least four US aircraft lost since the conflict began on February 28th.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

National Guard 50% US Air Force 60% Boeing 60% Iran ×470% Curtis Angst 80% Tyler Simmons 80% John Klinner 80% Ariana Savino 80% Ashley Pruitt 80% Seth Koval 80% Iraq ×490% United States ×1090%

Keywords

refuelling plane crash 100% us military 90% kc-135 stratotanker 80% iraq 70% combat mission 60% us-israel war 50% iran 50% midair collision 40% aerial refuelling 40%

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Negative

Score: -0.40

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Source

BBC News - World

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

United States

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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refuelling plane crash us military kc-135 stratotanker iraq combat mission us-israel war iran midair collision aerial refuelling

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