Two U.S. Navy aviators have been identified as the pilots killed in last week’s jet crash during a training mission in northeast Washington, Navy officials said Monday, Oct 21. Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay Evans and Lt. Serena Wileman, both 31 and from California, died when their EA-18G Growler jet went down 30 miles west of Yakima.
The aircraft had taken off from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.
The Navy described Evans and Wileman as highly decorated officers who were trailblazers and role models within the Navy’s aviation community. They were part of the Electronic Attack Squadron 130, known as the “Zappers.”
“More than just names and ranks, they were role models, trailblazers, and women whose influence touched countless people on the flight deck and well beyond,” the Navy’s Carrier Strike Group Two said in a statement.
Search crews faced challenging conditions while recovering the wreckage near Mount Rainier. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Evans and Wileman had recently returned from a nine-month deployment in the Middle East. Both aviators participated in combat operations in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
Evans, who flew some of the few combat missions over land, was part of the Navy’s historic all-female flyover during the 2023 Super Bowl. She was also named Growler Tactics Instructor of the Year in 2024.
President Joe Biden expressed his condolences in a statement, honoring the aviators as “among our nation’s finest,” and said the country “will always honor their service and sacrifice.”
