Navy identifies two slain in fighter jet crash as female aviators from California

The Navy said on Monday that the two crew members who died last week in a jet fighter crash near Mount Rainier were two Californian women aviators who were 31 years old.

Whidbey Island Naval Air Station says that Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay P. Evans, a Naval Flight Officer, and Lt. Serena N. Wileman, a Naval Aviator, died when their EA-18G Growler jet from the Electronic Attack Squadron, also known as the “Zappers,” crashed east of Mount Rainier last Tuesday while they were on a training flight.

Evans, from Palmdale, California, made history on February 12, 2023, when she was part of a group of female pilots who did the first-ever all-female flyover of Super Bowl LVII. The event was to honor 50 years of women pilots in the Navy, according to a Navy spokesman, Steve Fiebing.

In 1973, the first women to apply to the U.S. Navy flight school were accepted.

“I joined the Navy to protect my country,” Evans told the LA Times. “When you join the Navy, you become a part of something bigger than yourself.”

Wileman became a captain in 2018 and joined the Zapper squadron on Whidbey Island in Washington state in 2021. There was a Combat Action Ribbon, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Navy Unit Commendation Medal for her service.

A crew from an airplane found the wreckage the next day at an altitude of about 6,000 feet (1,828 meters) in a remote, steep, and highly wooded area east of Mount Rainier.

The Navy said the pilots were dead on Sunday and that they have moved their focus from search and rescue to recovery operations.

“We share the loss of two loved Zappers with a heavy heart,” said Cmdr. Timothy Warburton, who was in charge of Electronic Attack Squadron 130. “Right now, our top priority is taking care of the families of our fallen pilots and making sure our sailors and the Growler community are safe and healthy.” We appreciate all the teamwork that is going on to safely find the body.

The Navy said that people are picking up debris and making plans for the long-term salvage and recovery attempt. As per Gov. Jay Inslee, the Navy asked the National Guard of Washington state to “provide 24/7 security at assigned traffic control points.” On Sunday, Inslee agreed to the request.

The crash’s cause is still being looked into.

In 2008, Whidbey Island got the first Growler that was made there. The Navy said that over the past 15 years, the Growler has been used all over the world to help with big operations. One person sits in front of the driver and one person sits behind them.

The Navy blogged that the EA-18G Growler planes it flies are the most cutting edge in flying electronic attack technology and are the Navy’s first line of defense in dangerous places. It costs about $67 million for each plane.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray said she was very sad to hear about Evans’s death because she had met him at the Naval Air Station a year before.

Murray said in a statement, “I am deeply grateful for her bravery and sacrifice in service to our country.” “As a leader, she broke down walls and changed history.”

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“In the same way, I want to send my deepest condolences to Lt. Serena Wileman’s family and loved ones,” she said. “I am so proud of these two women for cutting new paths in their careers. Their work has definitely made a difference and opened the way for other women to follow.”

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