Navy crash victims from Whidbey, both 31, identified

WHIDBEY ISLAND — The Navy pilots killed in a jet crash were identified Monday as two 31-year-old women from California.

On Oct. 15, Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay “Miley” Evans and Lt. Serena “Dug” Wileman crashed in the Boeing-made EA-18G Growler from Electronic Attack Squadron 130 about 30 miles west of Yakima. The wreckage was found Wednesday, but search and rescue crews couldn’t reach it until Friday.

The Navy declared Evans and Wileman dead Sunday. The military waited 24 hours to identify them publicly so next of kin could be notified.

“More than just names and ranks, they were role models, trailblazers, and women whose influence touched countless people on the flight deck and well beyond,” the Navy wrote in a social media post Monday.

Evans enlisted in the Navy in 2010 after her time at the University of Southern California. She was commissioned as an officer out of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, commonly known as ROTC. She attended flight school at Naval Air Station Pensacola. The Navy said she “always carried herself as a humble yet strong leader.”

Last year, Evans was part of an all-female flyover at the Super Bowl. She joined the Zappers in September 2023. For the 2024 fiscal year, she was awarded the Growler Tactics Instructor of the Year.

Wileman was commissioned in 2018 and joined the squadron in late 2022, her first assignment after flight training. The Navy said she was “known for her heart of gold, passion, and unrelenting smile.” Wileman leaves behind her husband Brandon, also a Naval aviator she met in flight school.

They both participated in strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to the Navy.

Evans and Wileman had recently returned from a 9-month deployment with their squadron aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. The squadron is based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island north of Oak Harbor.

While deployed, the squadron carried out operations in the Southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb Strait and Gulf of Aden “to maintain the freedom of navigation in international waterways,” the Navy said in a press release in July.

“I have personally flown with both of these Great Americans in both training and dynamic combat operations, and they always performed professionally and precisely,” Cpt. Marvin Scott said in the social media post. “As true leaders in the Growler community, VAQ-130, and across my Air Wing, their contributions cannot be overstated; I could not be more proud to have served with each of them.”

Evans and Wileman bonded over their dogs. Evans had an Australian Shepherd named Nix and Wileman had Riley, a chihuahua and dachshund mix.

The cause of the crash remained under investigation.

Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; X: @GoldsteinStreet.