All three crew members on a Navy jet based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island were killed this morning when their aircraft crashed in Eastern Washington’s Lincoln County, Navy officials have confirmed.
The crew’s names will not be released until 24 hours after their families have been informed, said Lt. Aaron Kakiel in San Diego. The crew was flying an EA-6B Prowler jet assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron VAQ-129. It crashed about 8:45 a.m. into a field in an unpopulated area near the town of Harrington, about 50 miles west of Spokane.
The Navy said the wingman of the crashed plane reported that no parachutes were deployed. The Prowler was “engaged in a low-level navigation training mission,” the Navy said. Whidbey Island officials said the cause of the accident was under investigation.
A spokesman for the Whidbey base confirmed that the crashed jet was based there. Whidbey is home to EA-6B Prowler and EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft. P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft and EP-3E Aries reconnaissance aircraft are also based there.
NAS Whidbey Island is home to the U.S. Navy’s tactical electronic warfare squadrons. Crews from the base, located on Puget Sound, regularly fly across Eastern Washington for training exercises.
“The thoughts and prayers of northwest Washington are with the families of the aircrew who lost their lives today,” said U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., who represents the Whidbey Island area. “This tragic crash is a painful reminder of the dangerous work that members of the armed services perform every day in service to our nation.”
NAS Whidbey Island serves as the backdrop for The Last Top Gun, where CDR Erik "Troll" Green meets EF-18 Growler aircrew LT Steve "Rolls" Royce and LTJG Grace "Ariel" Miller.
RIP for the three aviators who were killed today serving their country so you and I can enjoy our freedom.
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