Two missing Navy aviators declared dead days after aircraft crash in Washington state

Two missing US Navy aviators have been declared dead, several days after their aircraft crashed near Mount Rainier, Washington, during a training flight, the Navy said Sunday.

“It is with a heavy heart that we share the loss of two beloved Zappers,” Cmdr. Timothy Warburton, commander of the Electronic Attack Squadron 130, nicknamed the “Zappers,” said in a news release. “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. We are grateful for the ongoing teamwork to safely recover the deceased.”

The aircraft, an EA-18G Growler — assigned to the Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 130 — crashed east of Mount Rainier during a training mission Tuesday. The Navy, US Army Special Forces soldiers and local law enforcement had been searching for the crew members since the crash.

The site of the crash was finally found Thursday, two days after the incident; search-and-rescue teams did not reach the site until Friday. The Navy said last week that the site was at roughly 6,000 feet and in “a remote, steep and heavily wooded area.”

The Navy said Sunday that personnel were still on-site continuing “to search the expansive area, recovering debris and planning for the long-term salvage and recovery effort.”

The identities of the two crew members have not yet been released. The cause of last week’s crash remains under investigation.

An EA-18G Growler is an electronic warfare aircraft and variant of the F/A-18 Super Hornet. The unit the Growler belonged to recently completed a deployment in the Middle East aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. A news release this summer said the unit “scored the first-ever air-to-air kill by a VAQ squadron in Navy history” during the deployment.