Wreckage found, but still no sign of crew after Navy fighter jet crash in Washington state

The wreckage of a U.S. Navy fighter jet that crashed in Washington state has been located, but search teams have still found no sign of the two crew members who were aboard the aircraft when it went down Tuesday.

The crash site of the Navy EA-18G Growler rests on a mountainside east of Mount Rainier, the Navy said in a press release provided to USA TODAY. The Navy has set up an emergency response center on its naval air station Whidbey Island, north of Seattle, to deploy teams to secure the remote area while continuing to search for the missing crew members.

The Growler was on a routine training flight when it crashed Tuesday afternoon, the Navy previously told USA TODAY. The aircraft, a variant of the F/A-18 Super Hornet, was part of Electronic Attack Squadron 130, known as the “Zappers.”

Navy aircraft tracked to remote area near Mount Rainier

After the aircraft crashed around 3:20 p.m. PT, the Navy deployed a search team, including a MH-60S helicopter, that launched from Whidbey Island. The naval air station in the Pacific Northwest is where all but one Navy tactical electronic attack squadrons flying the EA-18G Growler are based.

While aerial search operations continued through Tuesday night, teams faced mountainous terrain, cloudy weather, and low visibility, the Navy said. The site where search and rescue crews eventually tracked the downed fighter jet at 12:30 p.m. PT Wednesday is a remote region inaccessible to motor vehicles, the Navy said.

The cause of the crash was under investigation. The identities of the crew members have not been released.

Naval aircraft is part of 'Zappers' squadron

The aircraft is from Electronic Attack Squadron 130, also known as VAQ-130, based at Whidbey Island. 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.

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]