Military Plane Crashes In Washington State

[HuffingtonPost]

SEATTLE, March 11 (Reuters) - A military plane assigned to a  Washington state Naval Air Station on Whidbey Island crashed on  Monday morning, base spokesman Mike Welding said.                

Local media reports indicated that three people were feared  dead.                

The plane, Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler, a twin-engine  electronic warfare aircraft, went down sometime before 8:45 a.m.  local time in Lincoln County in eastern Washington state, but  specific details such as what caused the crash or the number of  passengers on board were not immediately known, Welding said.                

"It was flying out there. I don't know exactly what it was  doing," Welding said. "Everything is really preliminary at this  point."                

The plane is manufactured by Northrop Grumman.                

He could not immediately say how many people were on board  the crash or give any word on casualties. But the Spokane  Spokesman-Review cited Lincoln County Sheriff Wade Magers as  saying three people were on board and believed killed.                

Seattle's KOMO news television also quoted Magers as saying  that no survivors were found.                

The base where the plane was assigned is located on Whidbey  Island in the Puget Sound, north of Seattle. The plane crashed  roughly 10 miles from Harrington.     (Reporting By Eric Johnson; Editing by Cynthia Johnston,  Bernard Orr)

Via: HuffingtonPost