Auburn plans F-35 flyover to honor Maj. Alex Klinner before LSU game
Four jets flown by Auburn graduates are scheduled to honor the late Air Force pilot before Saturday’s game, when his family will also join a scholarship presentation.
Auburn plans a four-jet flyover before its October 24 football game against LSU in Auburn, Alabama, to honor U.S. Air Force Maj. John ‘Alex’ Klinner, an Auburn graduate who died while serving in March. His family is also scheduled to join a presentation for a scholarship established in his name, extending the tribute to students following a similar path through engineering and Air Force ROTC.
Four Auburn graduates to fly F-35s before LSU game
The flyover is scheduled to follow the national anthem. Auburn said four F-35 Lightning II fighter jets from the Alabama Air National Guard’s 187th Fighter Wing will be flown by Auburn graduates. The Montgomery Advertiser reported that the game is set for an 11 a.m. Central Time kickoff on Saturday and will air on ABC.
Klinner earned a mechanical engineering degree from Auburn in 2016 and was commissioned into the Air Force through the university’s ROTC program in 2017. An Auburn native and third-generation university graduate, he attended Auburn High School before following that route into military aviation. The Montgomery Advertiser reported that Klinner was 33 when he died in a KC-135 crash in Iraq on March 30, 2026.
Scholarship for Auburn engineering and ROTC students
During Saturday’s game-day events, members of Klinner’s family are scheduled to join Auburn Athletics and the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering for a presentation. Auburn said its Mechanical Engineering Advisory Board established the Major Alex Klinner Memorial Endowed Scholarship to support future mechanical engineering students in Air Force ROTC who reflect his leadership and commitment to service.
John Prunkl, a mechanical engineering graduate and advisory board member, said Klinner ‘worked hard to become an Auburn mechanical engineer’ and pursued his goal of becoming an Air Force pilot. Auburn said Klinner later served as an evaluator pilot and chief of squadron standardizations and evaluations with the 99th Air Refueling Squadron, logging hundreds of combat and combat-support hours across multiple deployments.
Klinner is survived by his wife, Libby, and their three young children, Auburn said. The Montgomery Advertiser reported that he had deployed four times over seven years and had flown KC-135, T-6 and T-1 aircraft. The planned flyover brings pilots from his alma mater over the stadium; the scholarship is intended to support Auburn students preparing for the kind of engineering and service career he pursued.
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Sources and context
- Auburn football to honor AU alumnus, Air Force Major Alex Klinner with flyoverThe Montgomery Advertiser (bylined Adam Cole; republished by Yahoo Sports)
- Auburn Football Pregame Flyover to honor Major Alex KlinnerAuburn Tigers
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.