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Search continues for Navy aviators missing after crash near Mount Rainier

EA-18G Growlers, with the San Juan islands in the background, prepare for an exercise at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in 2016 on Whidbey Island, Wash. Two aviators went missing last week after the Growler they were piloting crashed near Mount Rainier. The U.S. Navy pronounced them dead Sunday. (Ken Lambert/Seattle Times)
By Puneet Bsanti The News Tribune

The wreckage of a Navy aircraft that crashed near Mount Rainier this week was spotted Wednesday afternoon. Two crew members who were onboard remain missing.

The aircraft’s wreckage lies at about 6,000 feet altitude in a remote, steep and heavily wooded area east of Mount Rainier, according to the Navy in an updated news release.

The search for the missing crew members continues, and the Navy is working to get boots on the ground. Soldiers from 1st Special Forces Group that are based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord are helping with the search, the release said.

The identities of the crew members have not been released.

The Navy said they cannot identify or confirm the missing crew member’s identities until 24 hours after their next of kin have been notified of their status.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

The missing aviators were onboard a EA-18G Growler that took off from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island during a training flight. It reportedly crashed at around 3:23 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Navy.

Search-and-rescue crews were deployed from NAS Whidbey Island to locate the crew and examine the crash scene. That included a U.S. MH-60S helicopter.

The Navy is working with Yakima County tribal and local authorities to search for the Growler aircraft, according to an update from Naval Air Forces.

The Yakima County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook on Wednesday that it is working with the Navy to share information. The office also reached out to other search-and-rescue teams for assistance until the Navy’s resources are fully deployed.

Search-and-rescue crews faced mountainous terrain, cloudy weather and low visibility. The Navy conducted aerial operations throughout the night in the area 30 miles west of Yakima, according to an update Wednesday morning.

The wreckage of the crash was spotted Wednesday just after 12:30 p.m, according to a news release.

“An Emergency Operations Center has been established on NAS Whidbey Island to coordinate response efforts, and the U.S. Navy is making preparations to deploy personnel to secure the remote area that is not accessible by motorized vehicles,” the release said

The Boeing-made EA-18G Growler is from Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 130, also known as the “Zappers.”

“The EA-18G Growler is a variant in the F/A-18 family of aircraft that combines the proven F/A-18F Super Hornet platform with a sophisticated electronic warfare suite,” the release said.

VAQ-130 recently completed a combat deployment on USS Dwight D. Eisenhower as the only E/A-18G Growler squadron with Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 3, the release said.

“All EA-18G squadrons are stationed at NAS Whidbey Island, with the exception of one squadron (VAQ-141) attached to CVW-5, Forward Deployed Naval Force, based at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan,” the release said.

Controversy came in 2018 when some Whidbey Island residents opposed the Navy’s plans for increased training of the Growler jets, The News Tribune reported at the time.

The Navy planned to expand the Growler squadrons based at the air station so that there would be an increase in take-off and landing practices, the story said. Neighbors who were against the plan said they were concerned about noise from the jets and additional land-use restrictions around the landing strip near Coupeville.