Two Navy aviators who were flying an EA-18G Growler jet in Washington state when it crashed Tuesday were declared dead on Sunday, the service said in a statement.
The announcement came after days of searching and efforts to reach the wreckage in a remote mountainous area west of Yakima. The Navy said the names of the two aviators will not be released until 24 hours after their next of kin have been notified, and that the cause of the crash is under investigation.
“It is with a heavy heart that we share the loss of two beloved Zappers,” Cmdr. Timothy Warburton, the commander of Electronic Attack Squadron 130, said in the statement, referring to the two sailors by the squadron’s nickname. “Our priority right now is taking care of the families of our fallen aviators, and ensuring the well-being of our sailors and the Growler community.”
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The Navy launched search-and-rescue efforts shortly after the Growler went down on Tuesday, and by the next day, two of its own squadrons, Whidbey Island’s search-and-rescue teams and an Army Air Cavalry squadron from nearby Joint Base Lewis-McChord, as well as Yakima County local and tribal authorities, were all involved in the search.
When the wreckage of the plane was finally located on Wednesday afternoon, the Navy said it needed the specialized mountaineering experience of the soldiers from 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), based at Lewis-McChord, to reach the site.
The plane had crashed at an elevation of 6,000 feet on a steep and heavily wooded area east of Mount Rainier that meant rescuers faced mountainous terrain, cloudy weather and low visibility.
Despite the loss of the crew, the Navy said it will continue to “search the expansive area, recovering debris and planning for the long-term salvage and recovery effort.”
The Growler squadron, which is based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, had just returned from a combat deployment aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.
That deployment included combat operations against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Eisenhower, along with its support ships, carried out strikes and defended themselves against incoming missile attacks as the Houthis attempted to strike merchant ships in the Red Sea.
The Zappers squadron distinguished itself, and on its return home this summer, a Navy statement noted that one of its pilots scored the first air-to-air kill in a Growler in Navy history, and that it was also the first squadron to use an Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile, or AARGM, in combat.
The crash appears to be the first major mishap involving a Navy jet this year.
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