The fate of two airmen aboard a US Navy electronic warfare aircraft remains unclear nearly two days after a crash east of Mount Rainier, Washington. The aircraft involved is an EA-18G "Growler" from Electronic Attack Squadron VAQ-130. The twin-engine jet was on a training mission when it went down around 3:20 pm local time Tuesday.

In response to the incident, an MH-60S helicopter operating from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, along with other rescue units, quickly reached the crash site to begin search and recovery operations for the crewmembers, Navy officials said. The latest update issued at 4:30 pm ptd yesterday, the US Navy reported: "Shortly after 12:30 pm ptd, airborne search teams located the wreckage of the EA-18G 'Growler' that crashed on October 15. An emergency operations center has been established at NAS Whidbey Island to coordinate response efforts, and the US Navy is preparing to dispatch personnel to secure the remote area that is not accessible to motor vehicles". Captain David Ganci, commander of the Electronic Attack Wing, US Pacific Fleet, praised the efforts of "local law enforcement, first rescuers and tribal communities whose cooperation has been essential in planning our critical next steps to access the site".

The cause of the accident is under investigation, the brief statement concluded.