{"id":21531,"date":"2021-06-10T20:56:58","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T20:56:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/06\/10\/guardsman-killed-in-f-16c-crash-became-disoriented-distracted-safety-report-says\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:38:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:38:08","slug":"guardsman-killed-in-f-16c-crash-became-disoriented-distracted-safety-report-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2021\/06\/10\/guardsman-killed-in-f-16c-crash-became-disoriented-distracted-safety-report-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Guardsman killed in F-16C crash became disoriented, distracted, safety report says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The F-16C Fighting Falcon pilot who died in a crash in Michigan\u2019s Upper Peninsula last December was disoriented and distracted before his plane pitched into the woods, safety investigators said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.afjag.af.mil\/Portals\/77\/AIB-Reports\/2020\/8%20December%202020%20-%20ACC%20-%20Michican%20-%20F-16%20-%20AIB%20Report_Redacted.pdf\">new report out Wednesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Capt. Durwood \u201cHawk\u201d Jones, 37, a fighter pilot with the Wisconsin Air National Guard\u2019s 176th Fighter Squadron, went down in the Hiawatha National Forest while training to protect American airspace along the northern border around 7:15 p.m. on Dec. 8, 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Investigators found the crash occurred because Jones lost his bearings in flight and could not spatially reorient himself after trying to right the plane when it lost GPS navigational data. Multiple other factors contributed to his death, including low light at night, weather conditions and the jet\u2019s position and speed in the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jones set out that evening from Truax Field, Wisconsin, alongside another aircraft to practice a scramble in case of a threat to U.S. airspace.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2020\/12\/24\/wisconsin-air-national-guard-resumes-f-16-flights-after-crash\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Air-Force-Jet-crash.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Wisconsin Air National Guard resumes F-16 flights after crash<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">After the fatal crash Dec. 8, the commander of the 115th Fighter Wing, Col. Bart Van Roo, had grounded flights until officials could determine it was safe to fly again.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was a current and qualified F-16 pilot who had logged more than 1,300 hours flying rated aircraft and more than 1,000 hours in the F-16C \u2014 including more than 240 in combat and over 300 at night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ahead of the flight, ANG had deemed the mission that night as an \u201celevated risk\u201d based on the maneuvers, environment and pilots, the report said. The weather was bad enough that the previously planned rendezvous with a Civil Air Patrol Cessna was deemed too dangerous for the small aircraft. It was particularly dark in the upper Midwest that night, and light reflected off of the Great Lakes could play tricks on the eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shortly after takeoff, Jones noticed his GPS wasn\u2019t showing its satellite tracking data, and tried to troubleshoot the problem in midair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The pilot instead relied on his inertial navigation system, the internal device that calculates aspects of a plane\u2019s position in the sky like roll, pitch and velocity using gyroscopes and accelerometers rather than a satellite signal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jones\u2019s Fighting Falcon swapped positions with his wingman before flying into clouds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLooks like I\u2019m getting into the weather. \u2026 Are you able to keep track of me?\u201d the wingman radioed to Jones, according to the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then, Jones lost sight of the other plane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhile the [mishap pilot] was still \u2018blind,\u2019 the distance between the [mishap pilot and wingman] increased to 5.0 nautical miles\u201d on the air navigation system linking the two jets,\u201d the report said. Disoriented, Jones \u201casked if the [wingman] was making a left-hand turn. The [wingman] responded, \u2018I\u2019m not quite yet, I was going to press a little further forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the other pilot was responding, Jones\u2019s jet drew farther away from his wingman. \u201cThe last radio communication received from [Jones] was vague and non-specific,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2020\/12\/11\/wisconsin-air-national-guards-115th-fighter-wing-grounds-flights-following-f-16-crash\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ANG-crash-pilot.jpg.jpg?w=225\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Wisconsin Air National Guard IDs pilot killed in F-16 crash<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The wing has grounded flights indefinitely in the wake of the accident.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jones\u2019s maneuvers, especially without GPS guidance, required him to rely on his eyesight to direct the plane without outside visual cues. That\u2019s particularly difficult at night, in bad weather conditions and with little moonlight, the Air Force said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf visual contact with a horizon is lost, the vestibular system, or \u2018seat of the pants\u2019 feeling, becomes unreliable and can result in sensory illusions,\u201d the safety investigation noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jones and his F-16C \u201cwent into a series of heading, altitude and attitude changes\u201d that \u201ccontinued in a right-hand turn up to 135 degrees bank, a maximum dive angle of approximately 90 degrees nose low, and a maximum airspeed of over 600 knots,\u201d investigators found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It took only 12 seconds from his last radio call for Jones to end up nearly 10 miles away from his wingman. The plane was destroyed and its pilot killed when it crashed into the ground \u2014 possibly because of an illusion known as the \u201cgraveyard spiral.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAt the time of impact, the [F-16C] was approximately 58 degrees nose low, with over 20 degrees of right bank, heading 205 degrees, and traveling over 600 knots,\u201d the report said. \u201cAnalysis revealed the \u2026 nose and right wing tip both struck the ground, leaving recognizable cratering\u201d and shearing off nearby trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jones did not try to eject from the jet, the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2021\/03\/11\/flight-hours-plunged-during-covid-but-aircraft-mishap-rates-ticked-up\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"142\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/F-16-Saudi-F-15-formation.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Flight hours plunged during COVID, but aircraft mishap rates ticked up<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">After several years of focus on aviation mishaps, the Air Force still has a long way to go.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brig. Gen. David Smith, head of Jones\u2019s accident investigation board, added that the pilot was distracted by focusing \u201ca significant amount of attention on recovering a minor system degradation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA pilot\u2019s instrument flying priorities in the simplest of terms can be broken down to: aviate, navigate, and communicate, in that order,\u201d Smith wrote. \u201cThe [pilot\u2019s] fixation on a minor system degrade detracted from the primary task of \u2026 flying the [jet] \u2018first\u2019 using the remaining available primary instruments and\/or the standby attitude indicator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other Fighting Falcons, helicopters, an RC-26 reconnaissance plane, the Delta County Sheriff\u2019s Department, Michigan State Police and the Coast Guard came together to rescue the downed pilot. Col. Bart Van Roo, the 115th Fighter Wing commander, declared Jones dead at the scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force\u2019s safety review found no overdue inspections or incomplete maintenance that would have affected Jones\u2019s flight that night. There was no indication of health issues or intoxication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA review of the [F-16C\u2019s] active and historical maintenance records revealed two unscheduled maintenance events during the 90 days preceding the mishap,\u201d including replacements of three coaxial connector and the embedded GPS, the report added. \u201cThere is no evidence to indicate they contributed to the mishap.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Around 340 F-16s have been destroyed in mishaps since 1975, with at least 130 fatalities, <a href=\"https:\/\/mco.arcpublishing.com\/composer\/safety.af.mil\/Portals\/71\/documents\/Aviation\/Aircraft%20Statistics\/F-16.pdf\">according to the Air Force Safety Center<\/a>. Eight of the jets suffered accidents in fiscal 2020, including four that were destroyed or severely damaged.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Capt. Durwood \u201cHawk\u201d Jones, a fighter pilot with the Wisconsin Air National Guard\u2019s 176th Fighter Squadron, went down in Michigan&#8217;s Hiawatha National Forest around 7:15 p.m. on Dec. 8, 2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":43414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":67,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news","left-column","home"],"primary_category":"your-military"}}},"categories":[101,23,24,88,16,26,67],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3392],"class_list":["post-21531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-disaster","category-home","category-left-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-air-force"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"F57M7E2RFZGF7LCPFKDBGSWW3Q","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-air-force\/2021\/06\/10\/guardsman-killed-in-f-16c-crash-became-disoriented-distracted-safety-report-says\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Guardsman killed in F-16C crash became disoriented, distracted, safety report says - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Capt. Durwood \u201cHawk\u201d Jones, a fighter pilot with the Wisconsin Air National Guard\u2019s 176th Fighter Squadron, went down in Michigan&#039;s Hiawatha National Forest around 7:15 p.m. on Dec. 8, 2020.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2021\/06\/10\/guardsman-killed-in-f-16c-crash-became-disoriented-distracted-safety-report-says\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Guardsman killed in F-16C crash became disoriented, distracted, safety report says\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Capt. Durwood \u201cHawk\u201d Jones, a fighter pilot with the Wisconsin Air National Guard\u2019s 176th Fighter Squadron, went down in Michigan&#039;s Hiawatha National Forest around 7:15 p.m. on Dec. 8, 2020.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2021\/06\/10\/guardsman-killed-in-f-16c-crash-became-disoriented-distracted-safety-report-says\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Air Force TImes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-10T20:56:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T20:38:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rachel S. Cohen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rachel S. 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