Boeing plane carrying two Navy personnel crashes during a training exercise in Washington, sparking a frantic search
Two Navy soldiers are being sought after a Boeing jet crashed during a training flight in Washington on Tuesday.
The Boeing EA-18G Growler crashed east of Mount Rainier on October 15 around 3:30 PM local time.
It is not clear whether the two pilots managed to eject before losing contact with the base or went down with the fighter.
The US Navy is searching for two pilots who crashed in a Boeing EA-18G Growler during a routine training flight on Tuesday.
The U.S. Navy has since deployed a Navy MH-60S helicopter, launched from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, north of Seattle, for the search.
“As of October 15 at 7 p.m., the status of the two crew members remains unknown,” military officials said in a statement.
“At 3:23 PM PDT, a U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler aircraft from Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 130 crashed east of Mount Rainier during a routine training flight.
“Multiple search and rescue assets, including a US Navy MH-60S helicopter, launched from NAS Whidbey Island to locate the crew and investigate the crash site.”
Commander Beth Teach, public affairs officer, told DailyMail.com that the search was ongoing on Wednesday and an update was expected soon.
The EA-18G Growler is an electronic warfare aircraft and a variant of the F/A-18 Super Hornet.
Boeing advertises its Growler as the world’s most advanced electronic air strike twin engines that give it a maximum cruising speed of more than 1,000 knots, or 1,850 miles per hour, faster than the speed of sound.
The warplane was developed with tactical jam capabilities to eliminate enemy communications.
The nine weapons stations can carry “jamming pods” (filled with electronic weapons) or missiles, such as the AGM-88 HARM missiles designed to pick up electronic transmissions from surface-to-air radar systems.
Teach also confirmed to DailyMail.com that a Boeing P-8 Poseidon, a reconnaissance aircraft, had joined the search.
The P-8 Poseidon’s flight paths were tracked online by citizens, showing it circling several Washington cities, including Cliffdell and Nile, which are just miles from Mount Rainier National Park.
The downed Boeing fighter jet follows a series of controversies surrounding corporate jets, most notably the safety of the troubled 787 passenger jet.
In September, a United Airlines flight had to make an unscheduled landing after the cockpit navigation screens failed.
While flying at an altitude of 35,000 feet in a remote area above Canada’s icy and inhospitable Hudson Bay, the plane’s flight management computers entered “a degraded mode with limited capabilities,” the Transportation Safety Board of Canada reported.
The US Navy has launched a rescue mission and confirmed to DailyMail.com that a P-8 Poseidon is searching. Flight patterns show the P-8 circling an area outside Mount Rainier
The September 26 flight had to make an emergency landing at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, where United has a large maintenance base.
It took more than two hours for the plane to reach the ‘windy city’, but the pilots managed to land the plane without incident – 6,000 kilometers from the planned destination.
A United Airlines spokesperson confirmed that the plane was forced to divert “to address a potential technology issue.” Business insider reported.
The incident occurred just days before the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed it would drop a “safety probe” into United Airlines after a slew of accidents, including an incident in which a United plane’s landing gear failed, sending the plane onto the grass rolled. at the end of the runway.
In addition to United Airlines’ alleged mistakes, Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company, has also faced intense criticism following the release of its 787 Dreamliner fleet.
In 2013, the FAA grounded all 787s until a revised battery design was approved.
As of 2019, the 787 experienced quality control issues that slowed production and led to a near-total halt in deliveries from 2021 to 2022.
And in August of this year, the leading manufacturer of commercial jet aircraft was again inspected by the FAA regarding incidents in which aircraft were found nosediving uncontrollably in mid-air.
Since then, a whistleblower has raised numerous safety concerns about the 787 fleet and the FAA investigation is ongoing.