KSBY.com -- The Department of Defense has identified a Lompoc airman as one of the four Americans killed in Monday's plane crash in Iraq.

28-year old Derek Argel died on Memorial Day, during a training mission northeast of Baghdad.  On Wednesday, the military released new video of the crash site, where four American Air Force personnel and an Iraqi pilot were killed. 

Argel graduated from Cabrillo High School, and was a well-known swimmer and water polo player.  Family and friends describe Argel as a leader who was charismatic and thoughtful, and say news of his death on Memorial Day brings new meaning to the holiday.

"Derek was more than just my nephew, he was more like my son, I couldn't have loved him more if he were my son," says Argel's aunt, Carolyn Gentry.  "We were very close since he was very young."

"He was six foot eight or something like that," says friend Jeff Dacus.  "He was tall, you would just look up to him in every sense of the word.  He was just a really great guy."

The military is investigating why the single-engine airplane crashed.  The plane was one of seven used by the Iraqi Air Force for surveillance and personnel transport. 

Derek Argel is survived by his wife and a one-year old son.  A memorial service will be held this Friday at the Florida base where he was assigned, and local services are still being planned.