Image: Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay Evans and Lt. Serena Wileman
The U.S. Navy released the names of the two naval aviators who died, Oct. 15, when their EA-18G Growler aircraft crashed near Mount Rainier. Both had flown missions over Yemen to strike Houthi-controlled territories.
The names of the deceased are Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay P. Evans, 31, a naval flight officer from California and Lt. Serena N. Wileman, 31, a naval aviator from California.
The US Navy described the two women as “role models, trailblazers” in a release on Tuesday, and the cause of the deadly crash remained under investigation.
Two highly skilled, naval aviators, Lieutenant Commander Lyndsay Evans and Lieutenant Serena Wileman, tragically lost their lives during a routine training flight near Mount Rainier on October 15, the U.S. Navy announced.
They had recently returned from a deployment with their squadron, Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 130, “Zappers,” with whom they spent nine months at sea as a part of Carrier Air Wing Three (CVW-3) aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Operating mostly from the Red Sea, they supported operations Inherent Resolve, Prosperity Guardian and Poseidon Archer.
Both Lyndsay P. Evans and Serena N. Wileman coordinated and executed multiple combat strikes into Houthi-controlled territories in Yemen.
The Navy noted that during her 2023-24 deployment with CVW-3 and the IKE Carrier Strike Group (IKE CSG) in the Red Sea, Evans coordinated and executed multiple combat strikes into Houthi-controlled territories in Yemen, making her one of the few women to fly combat missions over land.
Also, Wileman during her 2023-24 deployment planned and subsequently flew multiple strikes into Houthi-controlled territories in Yemen.
The Navy, in a broader statement released alongside their names, called Evans and Wileman “role models, trailblazers, and women whose influence touched countless people on the flight deck and well beyond” and that while in the Red Sea, “they were involved in the most dynamic combat action in defense of the strike group and freedom of navigation since World War II.”
President Joe Biden released a statement on the loss of U.S. naval aviators. “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,” Biden said.
“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 president added.
