### Navy Confirms Crash of EA-18G Growler Jet; Two Crew Members Found Deceased

The tragic discovery of the bodies of two U.S. Navy crew members following the crash of their jet near Mount Rainier in Washington state was confirmed on Sunday afternoon by the Navy. Cmdr. Timothy Warburton, leading officer of the aviators' Electronic Attack Squadron, shared in a press release, "It is with a heavy heart that we share the loss of two beloved Zappers." He emphasized the current focus on supporting the families of the fallen aviators and acknowledged the combined efforts to safely recover the deceased.

The incident involved an EA-18G Growler aircraft, which carried two crew members during a routine training flight on Tuesday. The wreckage was spotted by aerial search crews around 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time on a mountainside east of Mount Rainier on Wednesday. The search operation extended several days and covered the challenging and remote terrain surrounding the towering, snow-covered volcanic area.

Based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in northwest Washington, the aircraft was part of Electronic Attack Squadron 130. The squadron, recognized as the Navy's oldest in electronic warfare, prides itself on the capabilities of the EA-18G Growler, described on its website as a lethal and survivable system designed to counter a range of threats.

Although the cause of the crash remains under investigation, this incident follows another close call for the Navy last December, when a surveillance plane overshot a runway in Hawaii and ended up in Kaneohe Bay without any injuries among the nine aboard.

The investigation into this latest tragic crash will continue as the Navy seeks answers to the circumstances surrounding the loss of two valuable members of its aviation community.