Three Crew Members of US Navy EA-6B Prowler Jet Die in Aircraft Crash (UPDATE)

All three crew members aboard a Navy EA-6B Prowler jet assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron 129 (VAQ-129) at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash., were killed when the aircraft crashed Monday morning in an unpopulated area approximately 50 miles west of Spokane, Wash.

It is Department of Defense policy to withhold release of the names of service members killed until 24 hours after their families are notified. That notification was completed Monday. The Navy personnel killed in the crash are:

-Lieutenant Junior Grade Valerie Cappelaere Delaney; Naval Aviator; 26; from Ellicott City, Md.
-Lieutenant Junior Grade William Brown McIlvaine III; Naval Flight Officer; 24; from El Paso, Texas
-Lieutenant Commander Alan A. Patterson; Naval Flight Officer; 34; from Tullahoma, Tenn.

The aircraft was conducting a routine training flight prior to the crash.

A safety investigation is underway to determine the cause.

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Naval Today Staff, March 13, 2013; Image: US Navy