One of the Advanced Electronic Warfare Jets Crashed in Washington

The US Navy is searching for two crew members missing after their EA-18G Growler aircraft crashed near Mount Rainier on Tuesday night. According to initial reports from the Navy, the Growler was flying near the mountain during a training exercise when it crashed at 3:23 p.m.

“Multiple search and rescue assets, including a US Navy MH-60S helicopter, were launched from NAS Whidbey Island to locate personnel and assess the crash site. As of 7 p.m. on October 15, the condition of the two workers is still unknown,” said a statement from the military.

The Growler that crashed was part of an electronic warfare unit and is part of Electronic Attack Squadron 130 based out of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington. Nicknamed the “Zappers,” the squadron had just returned from the Red Sea where it flew 700 fighter jets against the Houthis. The Growler survived hundreds of drone strikes but crashed during training at home.

The cause of the crash is still unknown and the Growler has not had a reputation for crashes and technical problems like the V-22 Osprey and F-35 joint strike aircraft. The Growler crash is the latest in a long line of recent US military aircraft mishaps. Most of the crashes involve newer and more technologically advanced aircraft such as the V-22 and F-35.

The IV-22 is a tiltrotor aircraft that can land and take off like a helicopter and tilt its rotors to fly like an airplane. Its unique design has caused problems. Last year, the Pentagon grounded its entire fleet of V-22s following a major crash in November that killed eight aircraft. In August of that year, another V-22 crashed in Australia killing three Marines.

In 2022, a V-22 crash killed five Marines in Glamis, California. In March, four Marines died during NATO training in Norway when the V-22 they were in crashed. In 2015, two Marines died during another accident involving a V-22.

The F-35, America’s trillion-dollar boondoggle, is also prone to crashes. In September of 2023, one of the advanced fighter jets went missing in the sky over South Carolina. The Pentagon asked the public to help find it. The pilot had ejected safely but the plane was moving on its own. The DoD later found the remains of the object two hours north of Charleston.

The F-35 shot itself out of the sky over Arizona in 2021. In 2022, people filmed an F-35 crash on the runway in Fort Worth, Texas. That same year, a software error caused a crash in Utah. More dramatic video from an aircraft carrier in 2022 has leaked online showing a single crash as it approaches for landing. In May 2020, an F-35 landed so hard on the runway that it rolled over, burst into flames, and was completely destroyed.

The list of F-35 and V-22 accidents goes on, that’s just a small sample. The Growler, by contrast, has an unblemished record. In 2018, an Australian Growler burst into flames on the runway before takeoff, but that is the only high-profile disaster involving jets so far.