MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, Wash. (AP) — Two crew members who were missing following the crash of a fighter jet in mountainous terrain in Washington during a routine training flight have been found dead, the U.S. Navy said Sunday.
The EA-18G Growler jet from the Electronic Attack Squadron crashed east of Mount Rainier on Tuesday afternoon, according to Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. Search teams, including a U.S. Navy MH-60S helicopter, immediately launched from NAS Whidbey Island to try to find the crew and crash site.
Army Special Forces soldiers trained in mountaineering, high-angle rescue and technical communications were brought in to reach the wreckage, which was located Wednesday by an aerial crew resting at about 6,000 feet (1,828 meters) in a remote, steep and heavily wooded area east of Mount Rainier, officials said. Snow was in the forecast for Friday through the weekend.
Locating the missing crew members “as quickly and as safely as possible” had been their priority, Capt. David Ganci, commander, Electronic Attack Wing, U.S. Pacific Fleet, said Thursday. Ganci said they could not identify the missing crew until 24 hours after their families had been notified of their status.
The crash remains under investigation.
The Associated Press