Capt. Curtis J. Angst, Maj. John A. Klinner, Capt. Seth R. Koval, Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, Capt. Ariana G. Savino, and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, were all killed when a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, March …
President Donald Trump traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware Wednesday for the dignified transfer of the six U.S. service members who died in a plane crash while supporting the U.S-Israeli war against Iran.
Maj. John A. "Alex" Klinner, 33, who served in Birmingham, Alabama; Capt. Ariana Linse Savino, 31, of Covington, Washington; and Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Kentucky, were assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida.
Capt. Seth Koval, 38, a resident of Stoutsville, Ohio, who was from Mooresville, Indiana; Capt. Curtis Angst, 30, who lived in Columbus; and Master Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28, of Columbus, were assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus, Ohio.
President Trump was joined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and lawmakers including Sens. Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt, both Alabama Republicans.
The dignified transfer was closed to news media coverage at the request of the families in accordance with military policy. Trump spent just under two hours on the ground and didn’t speak to reporters leaving Air Force One or returning to it.
This browser does not support the Video element.
Trump arrives at Dover Air Force Base ahead of dignified transfer
President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other lawmakers arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to attend the dignified transfer of six U.S. airmen that died in a plane crash while supporting the U.S-Israeli war against Iran.
What caused the crash?
What we know:
The KC-135 Stratotanker is a U.S. Air Force aircraft used to refuel other planes in midair, allowing them to travel longer distances and maintain operations longer without landing.
The plane is also used to transport wounded personnel during medical evacuations or conduct surveillance missions.
The Pentagon says the other plane involved was also a KC-135 and it landed safely in Israel.
What we don't know:
The circumstances of the crash are still unclear and remain under investigation, but U.S. Central Command did say that the loss of the aircraft was "not due to hostile or friendly fire."
Dig deeper:
The KC-135 has been in service for more than 60 years and has been involved in several fatal accidents, most recently in 2013. The aircraft don’t always carry parachutes, adding to concerns about their reliability.
U.S. Military Dignified Transfer
Big picture view:
The dignified transfer ritual at Dover Air Force Base is conducted for every U.S. military member who dies in the theater of operation while in the service of their country.
The dignified transfer is not a ceremony; rather, it is a solemn movement of the transfer case by a carry team composed of military personnel from the fallen member's respective service.
During the process, transfer cases draped with the American flag holding the remains of fallen soldiers are carried from the military aircraft that transported them to Dover to an awaiting vehicle to transport them to the mortuary facility at the base. There, the fallen service members are prepared for their final resting place.
The Source: This article includes information from the Pentagon, U.S. Central Command, and previous FOX Local reporting. This story was reported from Orlando.