The fate of two crew members of a Navy EA-18G Growler aircraft that crashed near Mount Rainier today remains unknown, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island reported this evening.
At 3:23 p.m., the Boeing-made aircraft from from Electronic Attack Squadron 130 crashed east of the mountain during a routine training flight. The cause of the crash is also unknown and under investigation.
Multiple search and rescue assets, including a U.S. Navy MH-60S helicopter, launched from NAS Whidbey Island to locate the crew and examine the crash site.
According to a press release, “Zappers” of VAQ-130 are based at NAS Whidbey Island and recently completed a combat deployment on USS Dwight D. Eisenhower as the only E/A-18G Growler squadron with Carrier Air Wing 3.
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. 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.
