Second victim of deadly Central Texas helicopter crash identified

The two people who died early Tuesday afternoon when a helicopter crashed in a Williamson County cotton field and burst into flames were a fighter pilot from Jordan and an American pilot under contract with the U.S. Army.

Michael Hawley, 58, of Dothan, Ala., and Jordanian fighter pilot 1st Lt. Ahmed Ali Mohammed Khalif al-Khawaldeh died in the crash Tuesday.

Khalif al-Khawaldeh was in the U.S. for training and Hawley was a Brunner Aerospace employee under contract through the Security Assistance Training Management Organization, officials said.

The Jordanian Armed Forces statement issued earlier Wednesday identifying Khalif al-Khawaldeh had indicated incorrectly that Hawley was an Army pilot.

The commander of Jordan's armed forces expressed condolences to the family of the Jordanian pilot as well as to Hawley's family and colleagues in the statement Wednesday.

The Hughes H369FF helicopter, which had taken off at around 12:15 p.m. from Georgetown Municipal Airport, crashed at around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday off County Road 346, which is off State Highway 95 between Granger and Circleville.

Authorities say the helicopter hit a power line.

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.

No further details were immediately released.