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| Date: | Wednesday 12 February 2025 |
| Time: | c 10:15 LT |
| Type: |  Boeing EA-18G Growler |
| Owner/operator: | US Navy (USN) |
| Registration: | 166855 |
| MSN: | G1 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near San Diego, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | San Diego-North Island NAS, CA (NZY/KNZY) |
| Whidbey Island-Ault Field, WA (NUW) |
US Navy Boeing EA-18G Growler 166855, coded NL-520, operated by VAQ-135, crashed in the San Diego Bay near NAS North Island, reportedly during a go around.
The crew ejected and are in stable condition. Thick fog was present at the time.
Statements from the Navy: "NAVAL AIR STATION NORTH ISLAND, San Diego – At approximately 10:15 PDT, a U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 135 crashed while landing. Two aircrew ejected into San Diego Bay and were quickly recovered before being transported to a local hospital for medical assessment. Both personnel are in stable condition.
NAVAL AIR STATION NORTH ISLAND, San Diego – The crash site of the U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler that went down earlier today has been identified in San Diego Bay. The aircraft remains submerged, and response teams are actively assessing the scene. The two aircrew members remain in good condition and are under 24-hour medical observation out of an abundance of caution. Harbor Security boats are on site securing the area, and a containment boom was placed around the crash site to minimize the spread of fuel and debris. Environmental and safety teams are working to mitigate any potential impacts. There are no reports of civilian injuries or damage at this time."
The US Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) completed the salvage on 28 February 2025. The recovery effort began on 16 February 12025 with the NAVFAC YD-254 floating crane and with the assistance of USN divers. The operation resulted in the retrieval of 33,388 ilbs of debris from the bay.
Sources:
https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/military-fighter-jet-crashes-into-water-off-point-loma-coast
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/military-aircraft-crashes-into-san-diego-bay/3752997/
https://news.usni.org/2025/02/12/breaking-navy-growler-crashes-off-coast-of-san-diego-crew-ejects-and-recovered
https://www.twz.com/air/fighter-jet-crashes-near-point-loma-in-san-diego
https://fox5sandiego.com/news/local-news/crews-position-barge-to-recover-crashed-navy-plane-in-san-diego-bay-safety-warning-issued/
https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/u-s-completes-salvage-of-crashed-u-s-navy-ea-18g-growler/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/152382114@N05/54324439716/in/photostream/lightbox/ (photo)
https://www.airpac.navy.mil/Organization/Electronic-Attack-Squadron-VAQ-135/
Location
Media:
BREAKING... FIGHTER JET CRASHES INTO SAN DIEGO HARBOR... BOTH PILOTS EJECTED PRIOR TO THE CRASH AND ARE IN STABLE CONDITION AFTER BEING RESCUED BY A FISHING VESSEL... IMAGE CAPTURED FROM SECURITY CAMERA FOOTAGE...
— MeidasTouch (@meidastouch.com) February 12, 2025 at 7:50 PM
[image or embed]
Some pics of the VAQ-135 Boeing EA-18G Growler that crash in San Diego this afternoon. The crew ejected successfully!
— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) February 12, 2025
Thank you to &PaintingSurfer Rick for sharing! pic.twitter.com/HycQHzIDTP
Occured at San Diego Bay, off the Poit Loma, one of the EA-18G Growler electronic warfare attack aircraft (166855/NL-520) of the #USNavy's VAQ-135 involved in exercise Bamboo Eagle-25 out of NAS North Island crashed. Its crew ejected and survived the crash. CCTV footage shows… pic.twitter.com/Y2yy9Sp0lt
— Babak Taghvaee - The Crisis Watch (@BabakTaghvaee1) February 13, 2025
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Feb-2025 18:43 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 12-Feb-2025 19:15 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Total occupants, Location, Source, Embed code, Narrative, ] |
| 12-Feb-2025 22:30 | Aerossurance | Updated [Time, Operator, Narrative, ] |
| 12-Feb-2025 22:33 | Aerossurance | Updated [Embed code, ] |
| 12-Feb-2025 22:35 | Aerossurance | Updated [Phase, Embed code, ] |
| 12-Feb-2025 22:35 | Aerossurance | Updated |
| 12-Feb-2025 22:36 | Aerossurance | Updated [Embed code, ] |
| 12-Feb-2025 22:39 | Aerossurance | Updated [Embed code, Narrative, Category, ] |
| 12-Feb-2025 22:48 | Aerossurance | Updated [Phase, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 13-Feb-2025 09:58 | Paradoxial | Updated [Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 13-Feb-2025 10:26 | RobertMB | Updated [Registration, Cn, Source, Embed code, Narrative, ] |
| 13-Feb-2025 21:57 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code, ] |
| 16-Feb-2025 16:25 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
| 16-Mar-2025 13:07 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
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