The Pentagon has identified the six airmen who were killed after their KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft crashed over western Iraq on March 12.

The flight crew consisted of Maj. John A. Klinner, 33; Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31; Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38; Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30; Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28.

Klinner, Savino, and Pruitt were assigned to the Sixth Air Refueling Wing, based out of MacDill Air Force Base, Florida.

Koval, Angst, and Simmons were assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing, an Ohio Air National Guard unit. Their unit was based out of Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Ohio.

“To lose a member of the Air Force family is excruciatingly painful, especially to those who know them as son, daughter, brother, sister, spouse, mom, or dad. To lose them at the same time is unimaginable,” Col. Ed Szczepanik, the commander of the Sixth Air Refueling Wing, said on March 14.

“Our hearts and minds are with the family, friends and loved ones of our fallen Airmen.”

There were no survivors among the crew of the plane that crashed over western Iraq.

Their KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft went down during an incident involving a second KC-135. The second aircraft was able to land safely in Israel.

A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker refueling tanker aircraft takes off from the Kadena Air Base airfield in Kadena town, west of Okinawa, southern Japan, on Aug. 30, 2023. (Hiro Komae/AP Photo)

Although the incident occurred amid ongoing U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, U.S. military officials have said the crash was not the result of either hostile or friendly fire.

The Iranian-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for the downing of the KC-135 but has provided no evidence to support the claim.

The crash incident remains under investigation.

U.S. forces amassed numerous aerial refueling aircraft in the Middle East ahead of the attacks in Iran. Although they are not directly involved in hostilities, these refueling aircraft enable strike aircraft to extend their operational range.

Between Feb. 28 and March 12, the U.S. military reported it had carried out about 6,000 strikes on Iranian targets.

As of March 13, Israeli forces had reported about 7,600 strikes on Iranian targets.

The KC-135 is at least the fourth manned U.S. aircraft lost amid the ongoing hostilities with Iran.

Three U.S. F-15E Strike Eagles were shot down in an apparent friendly fire incident over Kuwait on March 1. All six airmen survived that incident.

A U.S. military official told The Epoch Times that about 10 unmanned MQ-9 Reaper drones have been lost during the ongoing Iran conflict.

Procurement costs for KC-135s are about $80 million each, when their fiscal year 1998 procurement costs are adjusted for inflation.

F-15Es cost about $62 million, according to the Air Force.

According to a 2023 Congressional Research Service report, procurement costs for MQ-9s were about $23 million each.

Chris Summers contributed to this report.