OAK HARBOR, Wash. — The U.S. Navy has identified two servicemembers who were killed in a growler crash near Mount Rainier last week.
The crew members were identified Monday as Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay Payge Evans, 31, a naval flight officer, and Lt. Serena Nicole Wileman, 31, a naval aviator. Both were from California.
Evans and Wileman were both assigned to the Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 130. They died when their electronic warfare aircraft crashed in remote terrain Oct. 15.
“It is with a heavy heart that we share the loss of two beloved Zappers,” Cmdr. Timothy Warburton, commanding officer of the squadron, said in a statement Sunday. “Our priority right now is taking care of the families of our fallen aviators, and ensuring the well-being of our Sailors and the Growler community. We are grateful for the ongoing teamwork to safely recover the deceased.”
Evans was commissioned in 2014 and has been stationed on Whidbey Island since 2016. Evans was most recently assigned to the electronic attack squadron in September 2023. She has also served for several years in the electronic communications weapons school and the Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 136 at NAS Whidbey.
Wileman was commissioned in 2018 and has been stationed at Whidbey Island since 2021. Wileman was assigned to the electronic attack squadron in 2022. She was previously in a student role at several bases across the country.
President Joe Biden issued a statement Monday afternoon saying he and his wife, Jill, mourn the loss of the aviators and thanked them for their service. The statement reads, in part:
"They were among our nation’s finest and had just recently returned to the United States after an extended deployment to the Middle East defending against Houthi missile and drone attacks in the Red Sea.
We thank the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, and Yakima County Tribal and local authorities for their efforts to locate and recover these two brave and talented young aviators.
We pray for their families, loved ones and squadron-mates, and we will always honor their service and sacrifice."
The EA-18G Growler crashed east of Mount Rainier on Oct. 15. The plane took off from Oak Harbor, and the crash was reported at 3:23 p.m., according to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island officials.
The terrain was mountainous, steep and heavily wooded, and it took crews several days to locate the wreckage. Once they found the crash site, crews had to send specialized personnel with mountaineering and rescue knowledge to search the crash site.
On Sunday, the Navy announced that the aviators were dead. The identities of the crew members were withheld until next of kin were notified.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.