3 killed as NAS Whidbey jet crashes in Eastern Wash.
»
HARRINGTON, Wash. -- A U.S. Navy aircraft flying from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island crashed in Lincoln County on Monday, killing all three crewmembers who were on board.
The EA-6B Prowler went down about 10 miles outside of Harrington, Wash. just before 9 a.m.
The Navy informed Congress that the wingman of the crashed plane reported that no parachutes were deployed.
"First responders are on the scene and have reported finding partial remains of the mishap aircrew," the Navy informed Congress.
The identities of the crew were not immediately available.
The Prowler was "engaged in a low-level navigation training mission," the Navy told Congress. Whidbey Island officials said the cause of the accident was under investigation.
NAS Whidbey Island is home to the U.S. Navy's tactical electronic warfare squadrons. Crews from the base, located on Puget Sound, regularly fly across Eastern Washington for training exercises.
HaLee Walter lives nearby and said she heard a huge explosion that shook her house when the plane crashed.
"I went outside and of course I could see the smoke," she said. "The ambulance and police and fire trucks were all there and a plane had gone down and there was still another military aircraft circling."
Stan Dammel, who manages the Odessa Municipal Airport, got in his own aircraft and flew over the crash scene, which he said looked like a black ink spot on a field.
"There was no sign of an aircraft," he said. "Except there's a pretty deep depression, a hole in the ground, and a lot of debris scattered around."
Much of the plane appeared to have disintegrated on impact.
The Prowler specializes in electronic warfare such as jamming enemy radar and intercepting radio transmissions. It can also be equipped with missiles.
Whidbey Island officials said the plane that crashed was attached to Electronic Attack Squadron VAQ-129.
The EA-6B Prowler went down about 10 miles outside of Harrington, Wash. just before 9 a.m.
The Navy informed Congress that the wingman of the crashed plane reported that no parachutes were deployed.
"First responders are on the scene and have reported finding partial remains of the mishap aircrew," the Navy informed Congress.
The identities of the crew were not immediately available.
The Prowler was "engaged in a low-level navigation training mission," the Navy told Congress. Whidbey Island officials said the cause of the accident was under investigation.
NAS Whidbey Island is home to the U.S. Navy's tactical electronic warfare squadrons. Crews from the base, located on Puget Sound, regularly fly across Eastern Washington for training exercises.
HaLee Walter lives nearby and said she heard a huge explosion that shook her house when the plane crashed.
"I went outside and of course I could see the smoke," she said. "The ambulance and police and fire trucks were all there and a plane had gone down and there was still another military aircraft circling."
Stan Dammel, who manages the Odessa Municipal Airport, got in his own aircraft and flew over the crash scene, which he said looked like a black ink spot on a field.
"There was no sign of an aircraft," he said. "Except there's a pretty deep depression, a hole in the ground, and a lot of debris scattered around."
Much of the plane appeared to have disintegrated on impact.
The Prowler specializes in electronic warfare such as jamming enemy radar and intercepting radio transmissions. It can also be equipped with missiles.
Whidbey Island officials said the plane that crashed was attached to Electronic Attack Squadron VAQ-129.
I bet they went doing what they loved. My condolences to the families of this tragedy and to the community of Whidbey Island. My heart is heavy. Retired Coast Guard and pilot.
To the crew of the plane.. "Damn the torpedoes, Full speed ahead!"
"O'er azure skies
And emerald plains
Where freedom and justice prevailWith courage and strength
We'll fight to the end
For liberty in our land."
--Hymn of Liberty- Ace Combat 4 - Shattered Skies video game
To my fellow shipmates and their families, we are a NAVY family. We WILL get through together. "Fare Winds and following Seas".
RIP fine sirs.Â
@Chico actually, at least one victim was a female.
Very sad. Â
Thankfully not over a city, like Anacortes where they routinely run training flights.Â
Fair winds and following seas to the fine shipmates we lost today.
Crap. â%s: BREAKING NEWS: A navy aircraft has crashed in Washington State %sB%seekâ
Thoughts go out to the families.Â
I have a good friend who used to fly these when he was in the Navy. They have an issue where one of the engines runs hotter than it should and once in awhile they fail. When they do they often cause the other engine to fail as well. If they were flying low level they could have smacked or sucked a bird too. Or something could have just broke because these planes are pretty old now. Looking at what's left they may never know.
@Ankle Biter
There are many potential reasons that aircraft crash. Â But just throwing out a few speculations about something you know nothing about is unnecessary. Â "If they were flying low level they could have smacked..." Â Really? Â Do you have any idea about what low level flying entails, and where the dangers are?
Additionally,... you have NO idea what you are talking about WRT the accident scene. Â Accident investigators can find a ton of information at a scene like that. Â
Please (and this goes to all of you that feel you need to speculate)... just stop commenting. Â
This comment has been deleted
@vaoutdoorsman22Â AMEN!!!
@vaoutdoorsman22 @Ankle Biter Actually as long as one follows the guidelines, this forum is for anything we choose it to be. Speculating is perfectly fine. Its how discussions get started, which is why the forum exists in the first place. If you choose to use it as a way to offer condolences, then feel free. For others that want to go a different direction, that is equally fine....
@vaoutdoorsman22 @Ankle Biter Actually pretty much anything goes here, its an open forum. I might throw some politics in here just for fun
@Ankle BiterThe forum is not for speculating what caused the crash. That's what the mishap board is for. This forum is for expressing condolences and prayers for the fallen and their families -- families who might be reading this very thread and do NOT need someone's ignorantly misplaced judgments.
condolences to all who lost these three today ... Â
High Flight
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew -
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.
Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee
No 412 squadron, RCAF
Killed 11 December 1941
My condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of all the sailors. There are never the right words to express adequately a loss of any of our military men and women. May they all rest in peace.
As the mother of a deployed sailor, my heart is breaking for the families of friends of these 3 sailors. Flying out of NAS, they have probably flown on and off of my daughter's ship. This is such a tragedy. Thoughts and prayers also to their fellow teammates.
So sad...my husband is retired navy and works on the base and just called me about this. My heart is hurting for the families of these brave young sailors. VAQ-129 is an outstanding company and I know they all are feeling this loss. Prayers and blessings to all who are feeling this loss.
Sorry to hear about this.
I'm not a pilot, and I don't play one on TV, but I was pretty passable tank gunner. I do know the bond that fellow crewmen feel toward one another [and by 'bond' I mean an odd mix of dysfunctional brotherhood and loathing that only young men who spend a lot of time together in a small confined space can feel...].Â
If it's appropriate, I hope these sailor's squadron-mates will accept a tip from an old cavalryman's Stetson with due respects and regards in your grief.
Wow, lots more debris then united 93 from a smaller plane even.
@T_BONE_WALKER Maybe they weren't flying at 563 mph impacting at a 40 degree angle with 7000 gallons of jet fuel aboard.
@Getov Mylon Why didnt their 7000 gals of jet fuel burn in Pennsyvania as long the jet fuel burned at the towers? That fire was out before the first responders showed up. Will satellites detect a heat signature for months over eastern WA now? No other aircraft crash in history left nothing of the plane, people or cargo no matter the speed or angle of impact.
@T_BONE_WALKER
There was a lot more burning at the Twin Towers than just jet fuel. Plus as Matt says.
@Getov Mylon @Matt LaCanfora i know right? some people are just idiots. hey you should add me on facebook
@Matt LaCanfora Matt, don't even try with these people.
@T_BONE_WALKER @Getov Mylon It was probably the impact of the plane, all the friction and combustion just vaporized the fuel because it was so hot. Thats probably a reason why it didn't burn as much. And Tbone.... i'd love to see your research on "No other aircraft crash in history left nothing of the plane, people or cargo no matter the speed or angle of impact." thats BS.
here come the comments from all the armchair pilots...
@Carl Mayo Nope. Not a pilot. I was a pretty good tank gunner tho... that count? :)
SABOT UP!
@Rick4001CSÂ ON THE WAAAAAYYYY!
@Carl Mayo It's already started in full force - speculators, experts, and even a few conspiracy theorists are going at it.Â
My heartfelt prayers go out to the families of the Prowler that has tragically crashed, taking the lives of three Naval Officers, much too soon. Â As I have been reading the comments on this article, I would like to say a few things. Â Regardless of the "why," three Military Veterans have lost their lives. Â Regardless of the "amount of wreckage," three mothers are weeping. Â Regardless of your opinion on what they may have been doing and whether it is "normal" or not, three families mourn the loss of a father, husband, brother, mother, wife, or daughter. Â Why must people jump straight to the negative aspects of everything when tragedy strikes? Â Planes do today, what no man, not even the Wright Brothers, thought they would ever be able to do. Â One small thing can cause a horrific outcome. Â These Pilots and Naval Flight Officers were doing their job. They were training to play a vital role in the defense of our country, and they have now given the ultimate sacrifice in doing so. Â I may not have known you, you may have been in another squadron, you may have been in a different platform, but you were my family. Â Your names have not been released, but it matters not. Â You were my brothers and/or my sisters in arms, and you will be missed, but more importantly, you will be remembered. Always. Â Rest in peace, friends, and may the Lord welcome you with open arms, a smile on his face, and a subtle welcome home, children, welcome home.
@airbornsquid You forget, most of the folks who post on this board are perfect and an expert in all things...
When I was in the Navy we would get buzzed by jets all the time while we were underway and I used to imagine it was the coolest job in the world to fly those things. It probably is too but unfortunately it's a job that is unforgiving and whether the crew made a mistake or the airplane failed is immaterial. Failure in that game has grave consequences and these people paid that price.
RIP.
Mike
Heartbreaking - these guys are "cream of the crop". Â We lived RIGHT UNDERNEATH the flight path on Whidbey. Â The planes never fail to amaze me nor the caliber of person employed to fly them. Â Our deepest sympathy. Â
This breaks my heart. My nephew is in the Navy and this story made my stomach drop. It's a reminder of how dangerous being in the military can be. Even just in practice maneuvers things can happen. Thank you to the fallen for being on the ready to help defend our freedom.
My broken heart goes out to three devastated Military families today. Â
Remember: Courage, Honor, Commitment. Â
Be strong.
I've watched these guys fly over my parents summer home on the Columbia River (near Vantage) since I was a kid. There is nothing like seeing a jet fly low enough to see the pilot in the cockpit. I am unbelievably heart broken over this, it's terrible what the families are going through. Not said in above article, the Prowlers are being put out of commission and the F-18 super hornets or Growlers are replacing it. They've been training/replacing them since 2010.Â
Guess it doesn't surprise me that this has happened. Have you ever been over in Eastern Washington when these jets come wizzing by only a couple of hundred feet in the air. I have. I was driving on I-90 by Vantage when one flew right over me about 150 feet in the air.. Scared the living crap out of me. My car shook from the vibrations that it caused. Saw it for a couple of seconds and then it was gone. It was like they were playing a game with the plane.
@egle We train like we fight. No games needed or played. Sorry you were inconvenienced by our presence training to protect you right to whine about a little jet noise.
@egle Yes, playing a game with a plane is EXACTLY what they were doing. Sorry that their military training frightened you.
That, is exactly what they need to do,... practice... practice.... practice... That way, when the time comes when they have to do that, for real, when they have to get to a target without being spotted on radar, they can do exactly that.
Unfortunately, accidents do happen. Parts break... but, their training is very important.. it isn't like they are just playing a game with the plane because, they aren't.
My condolances go to their families..
@Mr. HÂ So ironic, that the "targets" are usually human beings.Â
@DTÂ @Mr. H sorry we can't train to give them cute fluffy teddy bears.
@DTÂ @Mr. HÂ What do you think the 19 hijackers considered their victims? Mothers, fathers, sons, daughters? Nope-targets.
@DTÂ Couldn't you take the day off from posting your (stuff), just once? Â The fact that the targets can be humans is simply left unsaid and expected. It is not..."ironic."
@egle  This is a normal procedure.  They can be flying 250+ kots below 1,500 feet.  Totally normal. See here =   http://4vfr.com/?goto=view_article§ion=articles&article_key=69
It's called flying the NAP of the earth. It is common and explanes no ejections.
Helo's do this also at night with goggles(no lights)Â and burn in from time to time.
Heavy heart right now. I remember numerous times driving over Stephens Pass almost to the summit and being buzzed by these jets. Approaching from the rear and not hearing a thing and they are almost at road level in the canyon banking back and forth. An incredible sight. Must be a common path from Whidbey to E-Wa. I also remember when one crashed along the Columbia just NW of Crescent Bar. Can't seem to be able to find an article. Wakeboarding on the river, there is a spot where you can climb the rocks and locate a memorial at the site.
@d_2 The EA6 crashed making a sharp left turn went into the river. I was there for the pilot and BN recovery. Their wingman was ahead of them and did not see the crash happen. Years later we had one fly through a 240 KV BPA line took out three lines. Chunks of wing tore off but it made it back to Whidbey with a big chunk out of the leading edge. Pretty tough aiplane. Sad to lose our Naval aviators. I met some of these guys back in the 90's at one of the crashes, great guys they were just back from Desert Storm then. R.I.P. guys.
@d_2Â
That is Stevens Pass. At least in Washington State it is.
@Bornhere You are correct. Stevens Pass. Didn't look right when I typed it out. Thanks for keeping me honest. :-)
@d_2 This is true, it's a story I've been told since a kid. My parents live in Sunland Estates, not far from CB.