Power lines played a role in this weekend’s helicopter crash, killing two Tennessee Guard pilots. The Kiowa Warrior helicopter took down power lines on its way down in rural Campbell County, north of Knoxville. However, Maj. Gen. Max Haston said Sunday the specific cause remains under investigation by a National Guard team out of Alabama.
The wreck occurred Saturday evening around 5:30. The pilots were on what’s being called a “routine training flight.”
The Tennessee Guard has released the names of both pilots. 1st Lt. Thomas Joseph Williams, Jr. and Chief Warrant Officer 4 Daniel Cole were both from Knoxville.
In a statement, Governor Bill Haslam says the accident is a somber reminder of how troops “face life threatening situations in training as well as in combat.”
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