Pilot Lt. Valerie Cappelaere Delaney, 26, of Ellicott City, Maryland; flight officer Lt. William Brown McIlvaine III, 24, of El Paso, Texas; and flight officer Lt. Cmdr. Alan A. Patterson, 34, of Tullahomawere, Tennessee were killed Monday when their Navy EA-6B Prowler jet crashed after taking off from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington state, according to a Navy news release.
The plane was conducting a routine training flight when it went down in an unpopulated area roughly 50 miles west of Spokane.
All three crew members were assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron 129 (VAQ-129) at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.
An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the crash.
Seattle television station KCPQ-TV has more on the backgrounds of the three Naval aviators who lost their lives Monday.
