Fighter jet crashes during training, two people are missing

The US Navy was looking for two airmen on Wednesday Plane crashed during a routine training flight.

According to the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, the Electronic Attack Squadron's EA-18G Growler jet crashed east of Mount Rainier around 3:23 p.m. on Tuesday. Search teams, including a US Navy MH-60S helicopter, were launched from NAS Whidbey Island to try to find the crew and investigate the crash site.

Navy officials said they did not know whether the two crew members managed to eject before the crash, which remains under investigation.

The EA-18G Growler is similar to the F/A-18F Super Hornet and features sophisticated electronic warfare equipment. Most Growler squadrons are stationed on Whidbey Island. One squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan.

The “Zappers” were recently deployed on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Wednesday's search took place in rainy and cloudy weather near Mount Rainier, a towering active volcano covered by snowfields and glaciers year-round.

The first production of the Growler was delivered to Whidbey Island in 2008. For the past 15 years, he has deployed around the globe supporting major operations, the Navy said. In the plane there is a pilot sitting at the front and an electronics technician behind him.

“The EA-18G Growler aircraft we fly represents the most advanced airborne electronic attack technology and represents the Navy’s first line of defense in hostile environments,” the Navy said on his website. Each plane costs about $67 million.

Exercise and travel on military aircraft can be dangerous, sometimes resulting in crashes, injuries and deaths.

In May, an F-35 fighter jet en route from Texas to Edwards Air Force Base near Los Angeles crashed after the pilot stopped to refuel in New Mexico. In this case, the pilot was the only person on board and was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Last year, eight U.S. Air Force special operations team members were killed while flying a CV-22B Osprey aircraft crashed off the coast of Japan.