The US Navy on Wednesday was looking for two aviators after their aircraft crashed throughout a routine coaching flight the day gone by. The crash occurred east of Mount Rainier round 3.23 pm (native time), in keeping with Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.
The plane concerned was an EA-18G Growler jet from the Digital Assault Squadron. Search groups, together with a US Navy MH-60S helicopter, have been dispatched from NAS Whidbey Island to search out the crew and examine the crash website, as per AP studies.
Navy officers are unsure if the 2 crew members ejected earlier than the crash. The incident stays below investigation.
The EA-18G Growler, outfitted with superior digital warfare know-how, is much like the F/A-18F Tremendous Hornet. Most Growler squadrons are based mostly at Whidbey Island, with one squadron stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan.
“The EA-18G Growler plane we fly represents probably the most superior know-how in airborne Digital Assault and stands because the Navy’s first line of protection in hostile environments,” the Navy acknowledged on its web site. Every plane has a pilot and an electronics operator and prices about $67 million.
The search effort passed off in wet and cloudy climate close to Mount Rainier. The realm is thought for its year-round snowfields and glaciers.
In one other incident earlier this yr, an F-35 fighter jet crashed in New Mexico, injuring the pilot. In a separate incident final yr, eight US Air Drive personnel died when a CV-22B Osprey plane crashed off the coast of Japan.
The EA-18G Growler started working at Whidbey Island in 2008 and has supported varied main actions globally over the previous 15 years.
