Local News in Brief : San Diego

An electronic warfare jet operating from the aircraft carrier Constellation was reported missing early Monday during a routine training mission over the eastern Pacific, a Navy spokesman said.

The jet, an EA6B Prowler with four crewmen aboard, was about 900 miles west of San Diego at 2:13 a.m. when it was reported overdue, according to Lt. Cmdr. Robert Pritchard. The twin-engine jet, manufactured by Grumman Corp., was from Electronic Warfare Squadron 139 based at Whidbey Island, Wash.

Rescue crews were searching for signs of the plane Monday afternoon, but none were found, Pritchard said. The names of the crew members were being withheld Monday pending notification of their families, Pritchard said.

No radio transmissions indicating trouble were picked up, he said. The jet was last seen by another aircraft about midnight, 350 miles west of the Constellation. The EA6B is a tactical electronic warfare jet that assists other aircraft operations by “degrading and suppressing enemy defense systems,” Pritchard said. The last accident involving an EA6B from the Pacific fleet occurred in November, 1987, when one disappeared over the Indian Ocean after taking off from the aircraft carrier Midway, he said. Neither the plane nor its crew was found.

The Constellation, which is based in San Diego, began a six-month deployment Thursday.