Alabama

Crew of fatal U.S. military crash included Alabama father and several troops from Ohio

Published

5 hours ago

March 15, 2026

Crew of fatal U.S. military crash included Alabama father and several troops from Ohio

A pilot from Alabama had just been promoted to major in January and had been deployed less than a week when the refueling aircraft he was aboard crashed in Iraq this week, killing him and five others, his brother-in-law said Saturday.

Alex Klinner, 33, leaves behind three small children: 7-month-old twins and a 2-year-old son, said his brother-in-law, James Harrill, on 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.

Klinner was one of three people killed in the Thursday crash that the U.S. government said were assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. On Saturday it identified the others as Capt. Ariana Savino, 31, of Covington, Wash., and Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Ky.

Three additional deceased service members on the aircraft were assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus, Ohio. 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 as being from Mooresville, Ind., while the Ohio National Guard listed his home in Stoutsville, Ohio. The Ohio National Guard listed both Angst and Simmons as residents of Columbus, while the U.S. government listed Angst as being from Wilmington, Ohio.

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

A new father and a new major

Klinner, a graduate of Auburn University and an eight-year Air Force veteran from Birmingham, Ala., had just moved with his family into a new home, said his wife, Libby Klinner, in an Instagram post mourning his death.

An outdoorsman who enjoyed hiking, Klinner was also ready to help others. When Harrill last saw him in January, Klinner had shoveled Harrill’s vehicle out of the snow during a family wedding.

“Alex was one of those guys that had this steady command about him,” said Harrill, of Atlanta, who helped set up a GoFundMe site for Klinner’s family. “He was literally one of the most kindest, giving people.”

Libby Klinner said in a post that her heart is broken for their children, who will grow up not knowing their father.

“They won’t get to see firsthand the way he would jump up to help in any way he could,” she wrote. “They won’t see how goofy and funny he was. They won’t witness his selflessness, the way he thought about everyone else before himself. They won’t get to feel the deep love he had for them.”

A man with a ready smile

Simmons was 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.

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.

The Ohio National Guard said Koval was an aircraft commander with 19 years of service. A graduate of Purdue University, he served in the Indiana National Guard before transferring to an Ohio unit in 2017, according to his Air Force biography.

Angst was a pilot with 10 years of service who graduated from the University of Cincinnati, according to his Air Force biography provided by the Ohio National Guard.

The refueling aircraft

U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said the crash occurred in western Iraq. Military officials said it is being investigated and was “not due to hostile or friendly fire.”

The crew was aboard a KC-135 aircraft, which refuels other planes in midair, allowing them to fly longer distances and sustain operations without landing. The plane can also be used to transport wounded personnel and conduct surveillance missions, according to military experts.

The Congressional Research Service says the Air Force last year had 376 KC-135s: 151 on active duty, 163 in the Air National Guard and 62 in the Air Force Reserve. It has been in service for more than 60 years.

Lieb, Scolforo and Walker write for the Associated Press.

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Alabama

Justin Lebron Exits as Alabama Drops Game it ‘Didn’t Deserve To Win’ to Kentucky

Published

17 hours ago

March 14, 2026

Press Room

Justin Lebron Exits as Alabama Drops Game it ‘Didn’t Deserve To Win’ to Kentucky

Alabama was in good shape entering the bottom of the fourth against Kentucky, leading 4-1 and appearing primed for its first SEC win of the season, despite star shortstop Justin Lebron exiting the game with an ankle injury. The Crimson Tide would then go on to implode, giving up seven runs over two error-laden defensive frames while proving unable to bring runners home in an 8-7 loss that gives the Wildcats the series win.

“We didn’t deserve to win,” head coach Rob Vaughn said. “That’s about as sloppy a defensive game as I’ve been a part of… at the end of the day, it’s basic stuff we do all the time that we just didn’t execute at a high level.”

Alabama started fast, as Lebron reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second and third, and came home on a Brady Neal sacrifice fly to get the Crimson Tide on the board with two outs in the top of the first. Jason Torres drew a walk, John Lemm doubled and Luke Vaughn was hit by a pitch to load the bases, giving Alabama an early chance to blow the game open. Captain Will Plattner, making his first weekend start in three weeks, was plunked as well to load the bases.

Starter Ben Cleaver was pulled after just 0.2 innings, as Kentucky would go on to deploy six arms in the win, none of which would go more than 3.0 innings. The Wildcats would get out of the opening frame with no further damage, and the score remained the same through the end of the second thanks to two perfect innings from Zane Adams.

In the top of that second inning, Lebron rolled his ankle on second base after a flyout. He played the bottom of the inning at short before exiting in what appeared to be a precautionary measure.

“We’ll know a lot more tomorrow,” Vaughn said. “They taped them up. Routine fly ball and he just stepped on second base… just couldn’t go back out there (for the third). So we’ll see where we’re at tomorrow, but we probably won’t know anything on him until close to the game time tomorrow.”

Justin Osterhouse, who was out of the lineup today, replaced Lebron, going 0-for-2 with a walk. Alabama added a run in the third off a John Lemm home run and the fourth off an error, but the offense dried up after that. After just one run through four innings, the Wildcat bats picked up, scoring four off Adams in the fifth to take a 5-4 lead.

Kentucky added three more in the seventh as Hudson Brown took Matthew Heiberger deep to right field. Two of the runs were credited to Evan Steckmesser. Alabama had its chances throughout the game, notably with the bases loaded with two outs in the sixth, but was unable to cut into the deficit at all until the top of the ninth.

Luke Vaughn drove in a run with a single through the right side, prompting a pitching change in the final frame, before nine-hole batter Brennan Holt brought in two with a single up the middle. All of a sudden, Alabama was a swing away as Bryce Fowler came up to bat with the tying run on second and the go-ahead run at first. Fowler struck out swinging to strand both of them.

“You look up, and you’ve got 12 guys left on base,” Vaughn said. “We had three or four situations where we could’ve gotten a big two-out hit and didn’t get it. When you go on the road, you’ve got to go take it from somebody, and we just weren’t able to do that.”

Alabama has struggled with many of the same things all season, as sloppy play, stranded runners and an inconsistent bullpen continue to plague the team. With a gauntlet of an SEC schedule on tap this year, an opening series sweep against a good, but far from elite, Kentucky team could prove detrimental for the direction of the season.

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Alabama

Mississippi beats No. 15 Alabama 80-79 in SEC quarterfinal shocker

Published

1 day ago

March 14, 2026

Press Room

Mississippi beats No. 15 Alabama 80-79 in SEC quarterfinal shocker

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — AJ Storr scored 17 points, Ilias Kamardine added 16 and 15th-seeded Mississippi upset No. 15 and second-seeded Alabama 80-79 on Friday night in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

Mississippi (15-19) won for the third time in three days in the tournament after losing 12 of the final 13 regular-season games. The Rebels advanced to the semifinals Saturday against No. 17 Arkansas, an 82-79 winner over Oklahoma in the final quarterfinal.

Labaron Philon led Alabama (23-9) with 28 points. Aden Holloway added 18 points and Aiden Sherrell had 14. Philon was five for seven from 3-point range and shot 9 of 16 overall.

Philon cut Mississippi’s lead to a point with two free throws with 13.4 seconds remaining. Mississippi’s Eduardo Klafke missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 9.4 seconds remaining. Alabama went the other way on the rebound, but turned the ball over under its own basket.

Mississippi led 47-41 at the half.

Alabama won the only regular-season matchup between the teams, 93-74 in Oxford.

Up next

Alabama: Waits to learn its next opponent on Selection Sunday.

Mississippi: Faces Arkansas on Saturday.

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