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Capt. Durwood “Hawk” Jones, 37, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, pictured here with his family, lost his life during an F-16 crash in the Upper Peninsula on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy the Wisconsin National Guard)
MADISON, Wis. The pilot who died in an F-16 crash in the Hiawatha National Forest during an evening training flight on Tuesday was identified on Friday by the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing as Air Force Capt. Durwood “Hawk” Jones, 37, of Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is survived by his wife and two children, officials said.
The cause of the accident remains under investigation, said Col. Bart Van Roo, the 115th Fighter Wing commander, in a news release from the Wisconsin Air National Guard.
Van Roo said Friday the 115th Fighter Wing has temporarily suspended its regular flying operations.
The crash was reported at about 8 p.m. Tuesday and emergency responders did not locate Jones body until Thursday.
At the press conference Friday, Van Roo declined to provide any details on the crash or what preceded it, citing an open investigation. He also declined to say whether Jones ejected himself from the aircraft prior to the crash.
It may take more than a year to determine the cause of the crash, Van Roo said.
In 1995, a similar jet from Madison crashed on a wooded hilltop after its engine failed and the pilot safely ejected.
F-16 pilot killed in U.P. crash was decorated National Guard pilot from New Mexico
The pilot who perished on Tuesday night in a F-16 crash in a national forest in the Upper Penisula has been identified, according to the Facebook page of the 115th Fighter Wing in Wisconsin.
Capt. Durwood “Hawk” Jones, 37, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was at the helm of the F-16 fighter jet when it crashed about 8 p.m. Dec. 8th in the Hiawatha National Forest. The plane was assigned to the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing.
Jones joined the Air National Guard in 2011 and graduated from F-16 basic qualification training in 2015 and is a decorated combat veteran, deploying as a part of a United States Pacific Command Theater Support Package to Japan in 2015 and to Korea in 2017, according to the Facebook post.
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