The Pentagon has identified all six Air Force personnel killed when their refueling tanker crashed in western Iraq on March 12.
Technical Sergeant Ashley Pruitt, of Bardstown, was one of six airmen killed in the crash. The KC-135's crew was supporting Operation Epic Fury when the crash occurred.
Pruitt, 34, is the second Kentuckian killed in U.S. military operations against the Iranian regime.
U.S. Army Sergeant Benjamin Pennington, 26, of Glendale, died of wounds sustained in a March 1 attack on the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
Pruitt and two of her crew members were assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Base in Florida. The other three were assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard base in Columbus, Ohio.
The Air Force is investigating the crash.
According to the Associated Press, 13 U.S. service members have been killed in the Iran operation, which began on Feb. 28. About 140 more have been injured, many severely, the Pentagon has said.
The KC-135 Stratotanker has been refueling U.S. military aircraft in midair since the Eisenhower administration. It is based on the Boeing 707 passenger plane.
The KC-135 fleet, which last year totaled 376, is scheduled to be phased out as the KC-46A Pegasus fleet is brought into service.
Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon on Friday morning that the crash occurred "over friendly territory in western Iraq, while the crew was on a combat mission" and reiterated that hostile or friendly fire was not the cause.
Copyright 2026 WEKU
