SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Just over 24 hours after a military fighter jet crashed into the San Diego Bay, ABC 10News has learned more about the aircraft and the investigation.
Military officials confirmed the aircraft involved in the crash is an E/A-18G Growler, a variant of the F-18 fighter jet customized for electronic warfare. It’s part of the Electronic Warfare Squadron, based in Washington state.
Experts say the Growler is one of the most sophisticated and reliable planes the military flies -- which raises questions about its sudden crash.
Rich Martindell, a retired aircraft investigator, noted the two pilots ejecting meant they had to know something was wrong before the crash. But the problem has not been identified.
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ABC 10News was told the weather conditions should not have been an issue, since the pilots had two to three miles of visibility.
Even if an engine went out, the Growler has a backup engine that can keep it flying for a long time.
But that type of plane doesn’t have a black box. So, the next step in the investigation is to talk to the pilots and retrace their steps for the three days leading up to the crash.
“We can gather up all the maintenance records of the aircraft. We can gather up the training records of the pilots,” said Martindell. “They’ll do a 72-hour lookback to make sure they were nourished, had good sleep. Ready for the mission. Fit to fly we call it. And that’s what they’ll be looking at.”
ABC 10News asked the Navy for an update on how the pilots are doing, but as of Thursday morning, Navy officials have not responded.
According to experts, the wreckage will provide a lot of answers when investigators finally pull it out of the water.
