Auburn University graduate Maj. Alex Klinner among six Air Force members killed in aircraft crash
This photo provided by by Mary Remmes shows Maj. Alex Kilnner on Jan. 10, 2026. (Mary Remmes via AP)
A pilot who graduated from Auburn University was among the six U.S. Air Force members killed in a refueling aircraft crash this week in Iraq.
Maj. Alex Klinner was 33 years old and had just been promoted to major in January and had been deployed less than a week when the crash happened, his brother-in-law said today.
Klinner leaves behind a wife and three small children: 7-month-old twins and a 2-year-old son, his brother-in-law, James Harrill, said.
“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.
The Pentagon hasn’t yet announced the identities of the six, but families began revealing who had died.
Klinner graduated from Auburn in 2016 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He was an eight-year U.S. Air Force veteran from Birmingham and had just moved with his family into a new home, his wife, Libby Klinner, said in an Instagram post.
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, 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.”
U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, has said the crash occurred on a combat mission but was over “friendly” territory in western Iraq. Military officials said it is being investigated and was “not due to hostile or friendly fire.”
FILE – A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker refueling tanker aircraft. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)
The KC-135 aircraft 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, including 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.
(Copyright 2026 The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
