Washington: The U.S. Navy has announced the deaths of the two crew members aboard an EA-18G Growler that went down last week east of Mount Rainier. The Electronic Attack Wing Pacific is now focused on recovery operations instead of search and rescue. The United States Navy asked the Washington National Guard to help with the recovery efforts, and Governor Jay Inslee granted their request.
Identity Of Naval Aviators
According to Navy regulation and out of consideration for the families, the identities of the Naval Aviators will not be disclosed until 24 hours after their next of kin have been informed. In order to help find the plane and its missing crew, the Navy asked the search and rescue team of the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office and other local law enforcement agencies. Soldiers from the 1st Special Forces Group, stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, were among the other military troops helping with the search.
The airborne group provides the specialised climbing, high-angle rescue, medical, and technical communication skills required to traverse the challenging terrain of the Cascade Mountain Range that is unreachable through other methods. To coordinate reaction activities, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island constructed an emergency operations centre.
EA-18G Growler’s Advanced Equipment
The on-site staff will keep searching the vast region, gathering debris and making plans for the long-term salvage and recovery operation. The EA-18G Growler has advanced electronic warfare equipment and is comparable to the F/A-18F Super Hornet, the aircraft type flown by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. Except for one squadron (VAQ-141) based at the Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni, Japan, all Growler squadrons are based at NASWI.