The Battle of Yavin was the Rebellion’s first major victory against the galaxy’s ruler, the Empire. And if you remember how that battle played out, you probably remember how it ended.
Do you also remember the moment Gold Squadron’s Y-wings were destroyed by Vader right in the middle of their attempt to take down the first Death Star? Like most people, I always assumed the Y-wings were completely wiped out.
But then we get to the end of the battle, right before the Death Star explodes, and we see the Millennium Falcon, flown by Han and Chewie, escaping alongside Luke and Wedge in their X-wings.
And here’s the part that made me pause: there’s also a Y-wing escaping. So who is this pilot? And where were they during the trench run?
In Canon it Was Evaan Verlaine
I have to admit, learning the name of this Gold Squadron survivor surprised me, because the answer isn’t the same in Canon and Legends.
In Canon, the Y-wing pilot who makes it out alive alongside Luke, Wedge, Han, and Chewie at the end of the Battle of Yavin is Evaan Verlaine. Even Wookieepedia spells it out plainly, noting that she “was the Y-wing pilot who survived the Battle of Yavin.”
But the best “straight to the point” confirmation comes from the canon reference book Star Wars: Battles That Changed the Galaxy, which flat-out lists the only three surviving Rebel starfighter pilots:
“REBEL ALLIANCE: Of the thirty rebel starfighter pilots who took part in the battle, only three survived: Luke Skywalker, Wedge Antilles, and Evaan Verlaine. The pilots’ sacrifice saved all of the personnel on the ground and secured the survival of the Rebellion.”
And it isn’t just one book saying it. The Star Wars: Galactic Atlas also places Evaan Verlaine as a Gold Squadron Y-wing pilot tied to the Battle of Yavin, backing up the same conclusion from another canon source.
In Legends, the Y-wing Survivor’s Name Was Keyan Farlander
Then in Legends, basically the Star Wars we knew before the Disney canon reset, the answer is different. The Y-wing pilot associated with that surviving ship is usually identified as Keyan Farlander.
On the old StarWars.com “Ask the Jedi Council” feature, Steve Sansweet (then Lucasfilm’s Head of Content/Fan Relations) addressed the mystery directly. He noted that the Y-wing pilot’s identity wasn’t canonically confirmed at the time, but said the most likely answer was Keyan Farlander—who originally debuted in the 1994 LucasArts game X-Wing.
