Surveillance Plane Crashes During Training Mission

A US Navy EA-6B Prowler assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron 136, part of Carrier Air Wing 5, was lost at sea during training February 12 at approximately 1600 EST, 28 nautical miles off Andersen Air Force Base, according to Navy officials.

All four crew members ejected from the aircraft prior to the crash. They were transported by Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25 to US Naval Hospital Guam for further assessment, and were released Wednesday.

The crew included a 41-year-old commander, 41-year-old lieutenant commander, 27-year-old lieutenant and 29-year-old lieutenant junior grade, Guam Naval Base spokesman Lt. Donnell Evans told Stars and Stripes.

The cause of this incident is currently being investigated.

The aircraft was part of the Kitty Hawk Strike Group (CSG), the US Navy's largest CSG, and is comprised of the carrier, Carrier Air Wing 5, seven ships of Destroyer Squadron 15, and two Aegis cruisers. With the ships permanently forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan, and the Air Wing to Atsugi, Japan, they serve as US 7th Fleet's combatant force.

FMI: www.navy.mil/local/c7f/