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Two Navy pilots declared dead after plane crash in Washington

VaselineOctober 21, 2024

0 2 minutes read

Two Navy pilots declared dead after plane crash in Washington

The missing crew members are believed dead after rescue teams searched for them for five days, even after locating the crashed EA-18G Growler they were aboard.

Two crew members who were aboard a U.S. Navy fighter plane that crashed last week in a remote area near Mount Rainier in Washington state have been pronounced dead after days of searching.

“It is with heavy hearts that we share the loss of two beloved Zappers,” said Navy Cmdr. Timothy Warburton said in a statement, referring to the nickname given to those from Electronic Attack Squadron 130.

Warburton, the squadron commander, said the Navy will release the pilots’ identities 24 hours after their families are notified.

The missing crew members are believed dead after rescue teams searched for them for five days, even after locating the crashed EA-18G Growler they were aboard. The wreckage of the plane, a variant of the F/A-18 Super Hornet, was found Wednesday afternoon, a day after it crashed on a mountainside east of Mount Rainier.

“Personnel on site continue to search the extensive area, recover debris and plan for the long-term recovery and recovery efforts,” the Navy said in its latest statement Sunday afternoon.

The Growler crash site is east of Mount Rainier

U.S. Navy personnel had searched the remote wilderness near Mount Rainier for days after the Growler crashed during a routine training flight Tuesday afternoon.

Air operations, including an MH-60S helicopter, launched from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, north of Seattle, where the Navy had set up an emergency response center to coordinate search efforts. The Naval Air Station in the Pacific Northwest is where all but one of the Navy’s tactical electronic attack squadrons flying the EA-18G Growler are based.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Navy found the wreckage of the Growler east of Mount Rainier, but no sign of the crew.

Located about 6,000 feet in the mountainous Cascade Range, the crash site was inaccessible to motor vehicles in a “heavily forested” area, the Navy said. Due to the difficult terrain, Army soldiers from the 1st Special Forces Group, who specialize in mountain climbing and high-angle rescues, assisted in the search, the Navy added.

Search and rescue teams, including local law enforcement, reached the crash site Friday evening to examine the debris and begin “methodically searching an extensive area” of the snow-covered wilderness to find the missing crew, the Navy said.

But on Sunday afternoon, the rescue effort shifted to a recovery mission.

“Our priority at this time is caring for the families of our fallen Airmen and ensuring the well-being of our Sailors and the Growler community,” Warburton said in his statement. “We are grateful for the continued teamwork to find the deceased safely. .”

The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Naval aircraft were part of the ‘Zappers’ squadron

The aircraft is from Electronic Attack Squadron 130, also known as VAQ-130, based on Whidbey Island. The squadron, the Navy’s oldest electronic warfare squadron, was nicknamed “Zappers” when it was first commissioned in 1959.

In July, the squadron returned from a nine-month combat deployment on the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the southern Red Sea, where it conducted strikes on Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, according to the Navy.

The first Growler test plane went into production in 2004 and made its maiden flight in 2006, according to the Navy. The plane, built by Boeing, cost $67 million.

Eric Lagatta covers the latest and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]

VaselineOctober 21, 2024

0 2 minutes read