Two Navy crew members identified after fatal jet crash near Washington's Mount Rainier
The two crew members were identified as Lieutenant Commander Lyndsay P. Evans and Lieutenant Serena N. Wileman. Both were 31 years old and from California.
The identities of the two crew members who were aboard a U.S. Navy fighter jet that crashed last week in a remote area in Washington state were released by the Navy on Monday.
The crew members were declared dead on Sunday, following days of searching. They were identified as Lieutenant Commander Lyndsay P. Evans, 31, a Naval Flight Office from California, and Lieutenant Serena N. Wileman, 31, a Naval Aviator also from California.
“It is with a heavy heart that we share the loss of two beloved Zappers,” Navy Cmdr. Timothy Warburton said in a statement on Sunday, referring to the nickname given to those in Electronic Attack Squadron 130.
The crash happened near Mount Rainier and rescue teams spent five days searching for the two crew members, after initially locating the EA-18G Growler aircraft last week.
Who were the crew members?
Wileman was a Naval Aviator who earned the rank of Lieutenant in August 2022.
Wileman was described as a person with a heart of gold, passion with an unrelenting smile, according to reporting from the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) shared by the Navy.
Evans was an alum of the University of Southern California, and was described as a “humble yet strong leader.” She formed part of the all-female Super Bowl flyover in 2023, which marked 50 years of women flying in the Navy.
“She earned the respect of the entire Growler community for her tactical expertise, mentorship to those of all ranks and communities, and ability to bring out the best in everyone around her,” according to the military news service DVIDS.
Naval aircraft was part of 'Zappers' squadron
The aircraft is from Electronic Attack Squadron 130, also known as VAQ-130, based at Whidbey Island in Washington state. The squadron, the Navy's oldest electronic warfare squadron, was nicknamed the “Zappers” when it was first commissioned in 1959.
In July, the squadron returned from a nine-month combat deployment on the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the southern Red Sea, where it executed strikes against Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, according to the Navy.
The first Growler test aircraft went into production in 2004 and made its first flight in 2006, according to the Navy. Built by Boeing, the aircraft costs $67 million.
Contributing: Eric Lagatta, Paste BN
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for Paste BN. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.