Body of fallen airman returns home to Georgia

HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — The body of a Georgia airman who died in Afghanistan has arrived home.
 
Police and sheriff's deputies escorted the body of Kcey Ruiz from Tara Field in Henry County to her hometown of Jackson around 1:45 p.m.
 
The procession travelled south on Highway 19/41 to Griffin then east on Highway 16 to Jackson.
 
According to the D.O.D., the 21-year-old died when the C-130J Super Hercules aircraft she was in crashed just after taking off at Jalalabad Airfield on Oct. 2.
 
Ruiz graduated from Dutchtown High School in Henry County in 2012. She enlisted in the U.S. Air Force shortly after graduating high school.
 
"She's just the type of person who always did the right thing," Kcey's father Michael Ruiz said. "She had a high level of integrity, and she was just good to people."
 
Four other airmen were killed in the crash: Senior Airman Quinn Johnson-Harris, 21, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Staff Sgt. Ryan Hammond of Moundsville, West Virginia, Capt. Jordan Pierson, 28, of Abilene, Texas and Capt. Jonathan Golen, 33, of Camarillo, California.
 
Federal investigators are still working to figure out why the C-130J went down.

The funeral for Ruiz is scheduled for Friday.

WSBTV