What we do know: On Feb. 12, a Navy jet known as the EA-18G Growler crashed into the San Diego Bay after its two-person crew safely ejected.
What we don’t know: What the $67 million aircraft was doing before it went down, and what caused the mishap.
There is an ongoing investigation conducted by Commander, Naval Air Forces (CNAF), but there have been conflicting stories up until now about what might have happened leading up to the crash.
According to the Naval Air Forces public affairs officer, Beth Teach, the jet was performing a go-around maneuver at Naval Air Station North Island (NASNI). She confirmed that the Growler had already taken off and was attempting the go-around when the pilots ejected.
A go-around maneuver occurs when an aircraft discontinues its landing and immediately ascends back into the air in order to fly back around and attempt landing again. It may or may not actually touch down on the runway before it comes back up. The maneuver is used as a way to avoid a full landing if for some reason the aircraft cannot land at that time.
In an email, The Coronado News asked if the plane had taken off from NASNI or if it was trying to land at North Island. Teach answered by writing, “Yes, to both.”
In a Naval Complexes Coordinating Group meeting on Feb. 24, Commanding Officer Capt. Ladislao Montero said go-around training does not happen at the air station.
“The aircraft was not conducting go-around training,” Montero said. “We don’t do touch-and-go’s, we don’t do carrier approach training. Every landing at North Island is a full stop.”
He explained that if the plane does go around, the pilot is executing an emergency procedure.
A touch-and-go exercise takes place when an aircraft actually touches the landing field and then takes off right after, and is practiced as carrier approach training. Since the carrier only has a finite amount of runway, if the plane lands at the wrong spot, it needs to try to approach again in order to land properly.
The Coronado News also reached out to NASNI’s public affairs officer, Kevin Dixon, who confirmed that go-arounds are not performed during training exercises at North Island. Go-arounds may be performed at all airports for emergency purposes.
An ongoing investigation
The Growler was part of a squadron that had flown in from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington to participate in an exercise based in part at North Island.
The exercise, called Bamboo Eagle, coordinated multinational military forces spread across many other bases. It included the Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force and British Royal Air Force. These military branches oversaw more than 150 aircraft at 15 locations.
An article in the Union Tribune detailed an eyewitness account that said after the pilots ejected, the plane continued flying over Point Loma homes before circling around and crashing into the bay.
The jet held two pilots, both of whom ejected into the water and were taken to a hospital for assessment, where they immediately were reported in stable condition. Their identities have not been disclosed by the Navy.
Harbor Police assisted in the retrieval of the pilots. After the recovery, they secured a maritime perimeter where the plane crashed, said Daniel Moen, a detective sergeant with the Port of San Diego. Removal of the wreckage was completed earlier this month.
The Growler’s home base, Whidbey Island, is a key Navy location for Field Carrier Landing Practice, a type of touch-and-go training that is crucial training for pilots preparing to deploy on an aircraft carrier.
To date, the Navy has provided no information on what caused the crash, or on communications with or among the pilots leading up to the accident.
There have been at least three EA-18G Growler crashes in the past three years, including the most recent – the previous two fatal.
In October 2024, there was a Growler crash near Mount Rainier during a routine training flight, and it killed the two pilots in the jet. In June 2022, another pilot was killed when his plane went down in Trona, California.
There will be multiple investigations from different Navy departments, including the Aviation Mishap Board and Safety Investigation Board, according to Teach.
Montero said the investigations might not be completed for another year.
