SEATTLE — Two 31-year-old Navy veterans from California were identified Monday as the aviators killed when their EA-18G Growler crashed last week east of Mount Rainier.
Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay Evans, a naval flight officer, and Lt. Serena Wileman, a naval aviator, went missing when the Growler crashed Tuesday afternoon near White Pass during a training flight. Authorities found the wreckage a day later, and the Navy declared the two crew members deceased on Sunday.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Navy search crews were able to reach the crash site Friday. The jet wreckage was at about 6,000 feet of elevation on a steep mountainside, unreachable by motor vehicle, and the terrain and cloudy weather complicated the search.
On Monday, the two decorated combat veterans were described as “trailblazers” whose influence “touched countless people on the flight deck and well beyond,” according to a Navy tribute posted after they were identified.
Based near Oak Harbor at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, the pair belonged to Electronic Attack Squadron 130, known as the “Zappers.” They had returned in July from a nine-month combat deployment on the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower primarily on the Red Sea, according to the Navy.
As part of the strikes into Houthi-controlled Yemen, “they were involved in the most dynamic combat action in defense of the strike group and freedom of navigation since World War II.” They were two of just a few women to fly combat missions over land, according to the Navy.
Originally from Palmdale in Southern California, Evans enlisted in the Navy in 2010 and was commissioned in 2014. She first reported to Electronic Attack Squadron 130 in September 2023 and had been stationed on Whidbey Island since 2016. Her Naval call sign was “Miley.”
Evans had been a student of the Naval Aviation School in Pensacola, Fla., and was awarded the Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon for actively participating in a ground or surface combat engagement, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
Last year, Evans was part of the all-female team of U.S. Navy aviators who conducted the Super Bowl flyover to mark 50 years of women flying in the Navy.
“I joined the Navy to serve my country,” Evans told the Los Angeles Times at the time. “Serving in the Navy means being part of something bigger than yourself.”
A Sacramento native, Wileman was commissioned in 2018, and first reported to Electronic Attack Squadron 130 in November 2022. Wileman, who was a student of the Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I., had been awarded the Navy Unit Commendation Medal and Combat Action Ribbon. Her Naval call sign was “Dug.”
She was at the beginning of a promising career, the Navy said. She had met her husband, also a Naval aviator, during flight school, and her goal after the Zappers was to be stationed with or near him. In a 2020 Navy newsletter, she recalled watching the Blue Angels as a child and thinking they were superheroes.
Growler recovery and salvage operation
A Navy EA-18G Growler crashed on a routine training flight from Navy Air Station Whidbey Island crashed on Oct. 15 at approximately 3:23 p.m. near Pear Butte at an elevation of 6,000 feet. Recovery operations are underway.
Sources: Esri, U.S. Navy (Mark Nowlin / The Seattle Times)
Evans and Wileman often flew together and were known for their humor and lighthearted spirits, and they helped each other and fellow sailors get through the mental strain of long deployments, according to the Navy.
They were professional and precise, Capt. Marvin Scott, commander of Carrier Air Wing 3, said in the Navy tribute.
“As true leaders in the Growler community, VAQ-130, and across my Air Wing, their contributions cannot be overstated,” Scott said. “I could not be more proud to have served with each of them.”
