The Navy recognized on Monday two “trailblazing” girls aviators who had been killed when their jet crashed in northeast Washington throughout an Oct. 15 coaching mission.
A day after Navy officers declared them lifeless, they had been recognized as Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay P. “Miley” Evans, a Naval flight officer, and Lt. Serena N. “Dug” Wileman, a Naval aviator. Each girls had been 31 years previous and from California, in line with the Navy.
Evans and Wileman had been described by Navy officers as “two extremely expert, fight embellished aviators.”
“Extra than simply names and ranks, they had been position fashions, trailblazers, and girls whose affect touched numerous folks on the flight deck and properly past,” the Navy’s Provider Strike Group Two and Provider Air Wing 3 mentioned in an announcement.
On this Feb. 20, 2020 file picture a U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler lands at Naval Outlying Area Coupeville on Whidbey Island, Wash.
Rob Edgcumbe/AP, FILE
The aviators had been recognized a day after Cmdr. Timothy Warburton of the Navy’s Digital Assault Squadron 130 — which works by the nickname “Zappers” — introduced that they had been declared lifeless.
“It’s with a heavy coronary heart that we share the lack of two beloved Zappers,” Warburton mentioned in an announcement. “Our precedence proper now could be taking good care of the households of our fallen aviators and guaranteeing the well-being of our Sailors and the Growler group. We’re grateful for the continuing teamwork to securely recuperate the deceased.”
Wreckage of the EA-18G Growler jet was positioned Wednesday on a mountainside east of Mount Rainier, army officers mentioned.
Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay P. Evans, 31, a Naval Flight Officer from California.
U.S. Navy
Search-and-rescue crews confronted mountainous terrain, cloudy climate and low visibility throughout the seek for the crew, Navy officers mentioned in an announcement final week.
The jet, from Digital Assault Squadron 130, crashed at about 3:23 p.m. on Oct. 15, about 30 miles west of Yakima, in line with the Navy.
Lt. Serena N. Wileman, 31, a Naval Aviator from California.
U.S. Navy
The jet crashed after launching a coaching flight from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, officers mentioned.
Evans and Wileman had not too long ago returned from a nine-month deployment to the Pink Sea within the Center East, the place they had been a part of the Provider Air Wing 3 and stationed aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower nuclear-powered plane service, in line with the Navy. Throughout their deployment, the aviators had been concerned in what the Navy described as “essentially the most dynamic fight motion.”
“Throughout their deployment, each Evans and Wileman distinguished themselves in fight operations,” Capt. Marvin Scott, a Navy flight commander, mentioned in an announcement.
Scott added, “These position fashions cemented legacies by making historical past that can encourage future generations of Naval officers and aviators.”
Evans accomplished a number of fight strikes into Houthi-controlled territories in Yemen, making her one of many few girls to fly fight missions over land, in line with the Navy.
In 2023, Evans was a part of an all-female Tremendous Bowl flyover of State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, which the Navy mentioned was “a historic second marking 50 years of girls flying within the Navy.”
In 2024, Evans was additionally named the Growler Ways Teacher of the Yr, in line with the Navy.
In 2023 and 2024, Wileman additionally flew on a number of fight missions into the Houthi-controlled territories of Yemen.
“I’ve personally flown with each of those nice Individuals in each coaching and dynamic fight operations, they usually all the time carried out professionally and exactly. I couldn’t be extra proud to have served with every of them,” Capt. Marvin Scott, a Navy flight commander, mentioned in an announcement.
The reason for the crash that killed Evans and Wileman is underneath investigation, in line with the Navy.
The Growler plane, which in line with the Navy is value about $67 million, is “essentially the most superior know-how in airborne Digital Assault and stands because the Navy’s first line of protection in hostile environments.”
The 130 squadron adopted the nickname “Zappers” when it was commissioned because the Provider Early Warning Squadron 13 in 1959, the army mentioned.
The squadron was most not too long ago deployed to the Southern Pink Sea, the place it carried out seven pre-planned strikes in opposition to Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, in line with an announcement.
The Zappers additionally carried out some 700 fight missions “to degrade the Houthi functionality to threaten harmless delivery,” in line with a press launch saying the squadron’s return to Washington in July.
