DELTA COUNTY, Mich. (WFRV) — The Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing Friday identified the pilot who died in an F-16 crash in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
The pilot was Air Force Capt. Durwood “Hawk” Jones, 37, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, who is survived by his wife and two children, NewsNation affiliate WFRV reports.
According to a release, Capt. Jones died as a result of the crash during an evening training flight in Michigan’s Hiawatha National Forest, said Col. Bart Van Roo, the 115th Fighter Wing commander. Capt. Jones joined the Air National Guard in 2011 and graduated from F-16 basic qualification training in 2015.
He 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. In 2019, he deployed again in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel to Afghanistan.
Capt. Jones has been awarded two Air Medals with combat “C” devices, which are awarded to individuals who have been personally exposed to hostile action or under significant risk of hostile action.
Before joining the military, Capt Jones graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in mathematics in 2005.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.