A US Navy fighter jet with two on board crashes during training in Washington state

The US Navy was searching Wednesday for two pilots whose plane crashed during a routine training flight.

According to Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, the Electronic Attack Squadron’s EA-18G Growler aircraft crashed east of Mount Rainier on Tuesday around 3:23 p.m. Search teams, including a US Navy MH-60S helicopter, were launched from NAS Whidbey Island to try to find the crew and investigate the crash site.

Navy officials said they did not know whether the two crew members managed to eject before the crash, which remains under investigation.

The EA-18G Growler is similar to the F/A-18F Super Hornet and contains advanced electronic warfare devices. Most Growler squadrons are based on Whidbey Island. One squadron is stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan.

The “Zappers” recently deployed on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.

The search took place Wednesday in rainy and cloudy weather near Mount Rainier, a towering active volcano covered in snowfields and glaciers year-round.

The first production of the Growler was delivered to Whidbey Island in 2008. For the past 15 years, he has deployed around the world in support of major operations, the Navy said. The aircraft seats a pilot in the front and an electronics operator behind them.

“The EA-18G Growler aircraft we fly represents the most advanced technology in airborne electronic attack and is the Navy’s first line of defense in hostile environments,” the Navy said on its website. Each plane costs about $67 million.

Training exercises and travel on military aircraft can be dangerous and sometimes lead to crashes, injuries and deaths.

In May, an F-35 fighter jet en route from Texas to Edwards Air Force Base near Los Angeles crashed after the pilot stopped for refueling in New Mexico. The pilot was the only person on board in that case and was taken to a hospital with serious injuries.

Last year, eight U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command service members were killed when a CV-22B Osprey aircraft they were flying crashed off the coast of Japan.