A search is underway for two Navy service members after a Boeing Jet crashed during a training flight in Washington Tuesday.
The Boeing EA-18G Growler went down east of Mount Rainier around 3:30pm local time on October 15.
It is not clear if the two pilots managed to eject before losing contact with the base or went down with the warfare jet.
The US Navy is searching for two pilots who went down in a Boeing EA-18G Growler during a routine training flight on Tuesday
The US Navy has since deployed a Navy MH-60S helicopter launched from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, north of Seattle, for the search.
‘As of 7 p.m. on Oct. 15, the status of the two crew members remains unknown,’ military officials said in a statement.
‘At 3:23 p.m. PDT, a U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler aircraft from Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 130 crashed east of Mount Rainier during a routine training flight.
‘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.’
Commander Beth Teach, public affairs officer, told DailyMail.com that the search was ongoing as of Wednesday and an update is expected shortly.
The EA-18G Growler is an electronic warfare aircraft, and variant of the F/A-18 Super Hornet.
Boeing advertises its Growler as the world’s most advanced airborne electronic attack with twin engines that give it a maximum cruising speed of more than 1,000 knots, or 1,150 miles per hour, faster than the speed of sound.
The warfare jet was developed with tactical jamming capabilities to knock out enemy communications.
Its nine weapons stations can carry ‘jamming pods’ – filled with electronic weapons – or missiles, such as the AGM-88 HARM missiles designed to home in on electronic transmissions coming from surface-to-air radar systems.
Teach also confirmed to DailyMail.com that a Boeing P-8 Poseidon, a reconnaissance aircraft, joined the search.
Flight paths of the P-8 Poseidon were monitored by civilians online who showed the craft circling several Washington towns, including Cliffdell and Nile that are just miles away from Mount Rainier National Park.
The downed Boeing combat jet follows a string of controversies surrounding the company planes, specifically the safety of its troubled 787 passenger jet.
In September, a United Airlines flight was forced to make an unplanned landing after cockpit navigation screens failed.
While flying at an altitude of 35,000 feet in a remote region over Canada’s frigid and inhospitable Hudson Bay, the plane’s flight management computers entered ‘a degraded mode with limited capabilities,’ Transportation Safety Board of Canada reported.
The US Navy has deployed a rescue mission, confirming to DailyMail.com that a P-8 Poseidon is on the search. Flight patters show P-8 circling a region outside of Mount Rainier
The September 26 flight was forced make an emergency landing at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, where United has a major maintenance base.
It took more than two hours for the plane to reach the ‘windy city’ but the pilots managed to get the jet on the ground without incident – 3,940 miles from its projected destination.
A United Airlines spokesperson confirmed that the plane was forced to make a diversion ‘to address a potential technology issue,’ Business Insider reported.
The incident came just days before the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that it was dropping a ‘safety probe’ into United Airlines following a slew of mishaps, including an incident in which the landing gear of a United plane failed causing the plane to roll onto the grass at the end of the runway.
In addition to United Airlines’ alleged errors, Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company, has faced intense scrutiny upon the release of its 787 Dreamliner fleet.
In 2013, the FAA grounded all 787s until a revised battery design was approved.
From 2019 onward, the 787 experienced quality control issues that slowed production and led to a near-total halt in deliveries from 2021 to 2022.
And again in August of this year, the leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners was inspected by the FAA regarding incidents in which planes were found uncontrollably nose-diving in mid-air.
A whistleblower has since come out with numerous safety concerns about the 787 fleet and the FAA’s investigation is ongoing.
