Air Force Capt. Ariana Savino’s last message to her friend and mentor several days before her death contained one word, spelled in exuberant capital letters: “WEPAAAA.”
The joyful Puerto Rican exclamation was typical of Savino, 31, of Covington, who infused pride in her heritage and positive energy into everything she did, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Ernesto Nisperos said in a statement Saturday.
News that Savino was among six aviators who died Thursday when a refueling plane crashed in western Iraq “knocked the wind out of” Nisperos.
The crash marked the largest loss of U.S. troops in an incident so far during this year’s war with Iran. At least seven others have died in the conflict, according to U.S. Central Command.
Savino, a member of the 99th Air Refueling Squadron, was aboard a KC-135 Stratotanker, traveling through “friendly airspace,” when the plane crashed following an unspecified incident with another U.S. plane, U.S. Central Command said in a statement Thursday. The second plane landed safely.
Authorities identified the other five aviators killed:
The crash is under investigation and was not caused by “hostile or friendly fire,” according to the U.S. military.
‘A phenomenal officer’
Days after Savino’s death, Nisperos said he still found it hard to believe his friend is gone and that she won’t send him another message to crack a joke.
“There’s this hollow, unreal feeling that keeps showing up,” Nisperos said. “It’s shock, anger, grief, pride, all tangled together.”
The pair met while working together aboard the E-8C JSTARS, a radar-equipped airplane, Nisperos said.
While Savino was known for her infectious smile, she was respected for her toughness. She held high standards for herself and for others, and she had a “ruthless commitment to making everyone around her better,” he said.
Savino loved to fly and was passionate about mentoring other Latina women and girls and showing them they could don the same Air Force uniform and thrive. She was a role model to her mentees and “showed them what was possible,” Nisperos said.
“The Air Force lost a phenomenal officer. Her community lost a role model. And a lot of us lost someone we loved and were proud to know,” Nisperos’ statement said. “She was proud of her heritage and I am proud to have been in her world.”
Savino’s husband declined an interview request and deferred questions to military officials.
An online fundraiser for Savino’s family created Sunday by her co-workers described Savino as a “dedicated friend” and a leader who always looked out for her colleagues. She loved her brother and sister, and her two dogs “were her whole world,” her co-workers wrote.
The fundraiser exceeded $80,000 Tuesday, with some proceeds going toward creating a scholarship fund for Latina women in aviation, which Savino was passionate about, according to organizers.
Savino was commissioned for active duty in 2017 through Central Washington University’s Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps. She graduated from training in 2020 and served at the Robins Air Force Base in Georgia, where she worked her way up from standardization and evaluation officer to flight commander, according to her Air Force biography.
Last year, Savino attended undergraduate pilot training at Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi and earned “her wings,” launching her next chapter as a KC-135 pilot.
Savino most recently served as a chief of current operations pilot at the Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base in Alabama, where she was responsible for the unit’s $21 million peacetime flight training program, flight schedules and aircrew training missions. Deployed in 2020 and 2026, she was awarded two medals, promoted three times and racked up over 1,400 hours of flight during her Air Force career, according to her biography.
‘Words cannot express the sorrow’
After more than a decade teaching at Central Washington’s aviation management program, professor Amy Hoover said it’s difficult to remember every student. That wasn’t the case with Savino, whose smile, charisma and humility set her apart, Hoover said.
“She was a person who drew other people to her and was a natural leader, but she was really humble about it,” Hoover said. “She had this attitude of, ‘We’re all in this together.'”
Ryan Hamilton, one of Savino’s former classmates at Central, said Savino “found her calling” through the school’s Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. The pair became friends after Savino’s boyfriend, now husband, introduced her to Hamilton, he said.
“The way she brightened his life as well as those all around her was infectious,” Hamilton said. “She always put others first and held such a bright future ahead of her.”
Retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Genieve White met Savino in 2022 during a recruiting mission in Puerto Rico. The pair became instant friends. Savino was someone people naturally gravitated toward, White said.
“She believed in leaving a place better than the way she found it,” White said. “And anyone who had the pleasure of knowing her in this lifetime was given a wonderful blessing.”
Gov. Bob Ferguson said in a post to X on Saturday that his prayers are with Savino’s family.
“We are grateful for her service, and we honor her memory,” he wrote.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said Savino was “one of ours” in a statement.
“These brave individuals provide a key challenging refueling service to fighter planes often involved in conflicts,” she said. “They were young men and women serving our nation in the bravest manner possible. Our nation should mourn their loss and honor their service. We send prayers to their families and to those still in harm’s way.”
In a statement Monday, Central Washington University said the school’s community and members of its Air Force ROTC program would “always remember (Savino’s) brave service.”
“We would like to offer our most sincere condolences to her family and loved ones,” the statement said. “Words cannot express the sorrow we feel about the sudden passing of Ariana.”
An ongoing war
U.S. Central Command has released few details about the crash.
The KC-135 Stratotanker is designed to refuel other planes midair. The $39.6 million aircraft was built by Boeing but no longer in production, with the last plane to the Air Force in 1965. They’ve undergone major upgrades over the years.
Thirteen U.S. service members have been killed so far in Operation Epic Fury, according to U.S. Central Command. One soldier was killed after an attack in Saudi Arabia, and six others were killed in Kuwait. In the Middle East, the civilian death toll includes approximately 175 people killed in a U.S. strike on an Iranian girls’ elementary school.
Thousands of service members have been deployed to assist U.S. military action.
At least two Navy attack squadrons that fly EA-18G Growler aircraft from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island have been conducting operations for weeks, according to the U.S. Naval Institute’s fleet and marine tracker. Electronic Attack Squadron 133, known as the “Wizards,” are operating from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, and the “Gray Wolves” of Electronic Attack Squadron 142 are with the USS Gerald R. Ford in the Red Sea.
About 100 members of the 141st Air Refueling Wing stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane have been activated, a military spokesperson confirmed this month. The unit also flies the KC-135, the aircraft that crashed.
Savino is believed to be the first U.S. service member with Washington ties killed in a combat zone in six years. Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy Griffin, 40, a Special Forces soldier from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, died in 2019 from small-arms fire in Afghanistan.
Others have died more recently in training exercises. In September, four special operations soldiers died when a MH-60 Blackhawk helicopter crashed during a training mission in Thurston County. Army chief warrant officers Andrew Cully, 35, of Missouri and Andrew Kraus, 39, of Florida, and sergeants Donavon Scott, 25, of Tacoma, and Jadalyn Good, 23, of Mount Vernon, were part of the “Night Stalkers” from the 4th Battalion of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne).
Two aviators from NAS Whidbey Island were killed in October 2024 during a routine training flight when their EA-18G Growler crashed east of Mount Rainier. Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay Evans, 31, a naval flight officer, and Lt. Serena Wileman, also 31, a naval aviator, were assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron 130, known as the “Zappers.”
