Issaquah grad takes wing for flyover
January 11, 2011
Navy Lt. John Nelson, a 1997 Issaquah High School graduate, pilots a Boeing EA-18G Growler in the dash-2 position (left) in a two-plane flyover of Qwest Field on Jan. 8 for the Seattle Seahawks playoff game against the New Orleans Saints. By Greg Farrar
Sure, the Seattle Seahawks received a boost from the 12th Man in the improbable playoff triumph against the New Orleans Saints last week, but the home team had some air support before the match-up, too.
Issaquah High School graduate Lt. John Nelson, a Navy pilot, participated in the Qwest Field flyover just before kickoff Jan. 8. Read more
Jets spotted in Issaquah participated in stadium flyover
September 28, 2010
The fighter jets residents reported in the skies above Issaquah and Sammamish on Sept. 18 conducted a flyover at Husky Stadium before the Washington-Nebraska football game.
Residents spotted the aircraft, a pair of Boeing EA-18G Growlers based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, above the Eastside at about the same time as the 12:30 p.m. kickoff.
Kim Martin, a Navy spokeswoman at the air station, said the aircraft serve as part of VAQ-129, a training squadron based at Whidbey Island.
Jets spotted in Issaquah participated in Husky Stadium flyover
September 20, 2010
NEW — 10:45 a.m. Sept. 20, 2010
The fighter jets residents reported in the skies above Issaquah and Sammamish on Saturday conducted a flyover at Husky Stadium before the Washington-Nebraska football game.
Residents spotted the aircraft, a pair of Boeing EA-18G Growlers based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, above the Eastside at about the same time as the 12:30 p.m. kickoff.
Kim Martin, a Navy spokeswoman at the air station, said the aircraft serve as part of VAQ-129, a training squadron based at Whidbey Island.
Rescuers pluck crashed paraglider from trees
July 21, 2009
A Whidbey Island Naval Air Station helicopter retrieves a rescuer from Tiger Mountain after airlifting a crashed paraglider June 14. By Greg Farrar
A paraglider pilot crashed into trees on Tiger Mountain Tuesday afternoon, ending his otherwise uneventful flight with broken ribs. Crews freed the trapped pilot from trees during a dramatic rescue as afternoon turned to evening.
Authorities identified the pilot as 47-year-old Spanaway resident Gene Beaver.
Rescuers pluck paraglider pilot from trees after Tiger Mountain crash
July 14, 2009
UPDATED — 11:45 a.m. July 16, 2009
A paraglider pilot crashed into trees on Tiger Mountain Tuesday afternoon, ending his otherwise uneventful flight with broken ribs. Crews freed the trapped pilot from trees during a dramatic rescue as afternoon turned to evening.
Authorities identified the pilot as 47-year-old Spanaway resident Gene Beaver.*
A Navy Blackhawk helicopter based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island plucked the pilot from the woods while local crews worked on the ground.
Eastside Fire & Rescue Firefighter Ryan Hendricks said the Navy helicopter crew loaded the injured paraglider pilot into a basket to lift him from Tiger Mountain. EFR crews and King County Search and Rescue, a volunteer group, coordinated the rescue on the ground as the Navy chopper and news helicopters whirred overhead.
A Navy helicopter from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island retrieves a Navy corpsman from Tiger Mountain after the crew airlifted a paraglider that crashed into treetops July 14 and suffered broken ribs. — Photo by Greg Farrar
