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US Navy fighter jet with two on board crashes during training in Washington state

An EA-18G Growler engine's thrust with afterburner propels its takeoff with a loud roar from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island during an exercise, March 10, 2016. (Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times via AP)
An EA-18G Growler engine's thrust with afterburner propels its takeoff with a loud roar from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island during an exercise, March 10, 2016. (Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times via AP) An EA-18G Growler engine's thrust with afterburner propels its takeoff with a loud roar from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island during an exercise, March 10, 2016. (Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times via AP)

By MARTHA BELLISLE / Associated Press 2 min read


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 3:23 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.