Two missing crew members followed the crash of a fighter jet in mountainous terrain in Washington were pronounced dead during a routine training flight, the U.S. Navy said Sunday.
The Electronic Attack Squadron’s EA-18G Growler jet crashed east of Mount Rainier Tuesday afternoon, according to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. Search teams, including a US Navy MH-60S helicopter, launched from the air station to try to find the crew and the crash site.
Army Special Forces soldiers trained in mountaineering, high-angle rescue and technical communications were deployed to reach the wreckage, which was located Wednesday by an air crew resting about 6,000 feet (1,828 meters) in a remote, steep and heavily wooded area east of Mount Rainier, officials said.
The names of the pilots will not be released until a day after their next of kin are notified, the Navy said in a statement Sunday, adding that search and rescue efforts have shifted to a lengthy recovery and recovery operation as the cause of the crash is still being investigated.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share the loss of two beloved Zappers,” said Commander. Timothy Warburton, commander of the pilots’ Electronic Attack Squadron. “Our priority at this time is to care for the families of our fallen pilots. … We are grateful for the continued teamwork to find the deceased safely.”
Locating the missing crew members “as quickly and as safely as possible” had been the top priority, Capt. David Ganci, commander of the Electronic Attack Wing, US Pacific Fleet, said Thursday.
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 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, the Growler has operated 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 involving military aircraft can be dangerous and sometimes lead to crashes, injuries and deaths.
In May, an F-35 fighter jet was 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.
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This story has been updated to correct that the Navy said it declared the crew members dead and did not find them dead.
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Associated Press writer Jesse Bedayn contributed to this report from Denver.