The U.S. Navy was searching Wednesday for two aviators whose plane crashed during a routine training flight.
The EA-18G Growler jet from the Electronic Attack Squadron crashed east of Mount Rainier at about 323 p.m. Tuesday, according to Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. Search teams, including a U.S. Navy MH-60S helicopter, launched from NAS Whidbey Island to try to find the crew and examine the crash site.
Navy officials said they didn't know if the two crew members managed to eject before the crash, which remains under investigation.
The EA-18G Growler is similar to the F/A-18F Super Hornet and includes sophisticated electronic warfare devices. Most of the Growler squadrons are based at Whidbey Island. One squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan.
The "Zappers" were recently deployed on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.
