US Navy searching for two crew members after aircraft crash near Mount Rainier

The US Navy is searching for two crew members after their aircraft crashed near Mount Rainier in Washington during a training flight on Tuesday.

A US Navy EA-18G Growler aircraft — assigned to the Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 130 in Washington — crashed on Tuesday afternoon east of Mount Rainier, according to a release from Naval Air Forces.

“Multiple search and rescue assets, including a U.S. Navy MH-60S helicopter, launched from NAS Whidbey Island to locate the crew and examine the crash site,” the release said. “As of 7 p.m. on Oct. 15, the status of the two crew members remains unknown.”

The EA-18G Growler is an electronic warfare aircraft, and variant of the F/A-18 Super Hornet. The crash is under investigation, the Navy said. The unit the Growler belongs to recently completed a deployment aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, the release said.