All four crew members emerged safely after two U.S. Navy fighter jets collided and plummeted to the ground during a weekend aerial demonstration in western Idaho.
The collision occurred on Sunday at the Mountain Home Air Force Base during the Gunfighter Skies Air Show. The two aircraft involved were EA-18G Growlers—highly sophisticated electronic warfare variants of the F/A-18 Super Hornet, valued at approximately $67 million each—assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron 129 based out of Whidbey Island, Washington.
According to Naval Air Forces spokesperson Cmdr. Amelia Umayam, the planes were executing an aerial maneuver when they made contact. Spectator video captured the dramatic moment the two multi-million dollar aircraft appeared to become entangled and spin in tandem. Miraculously, both crews managed to eject simultaneously, their four parachutes deploying in the sky just seconds before the conjoined jets crashed into an open plain and exploded into a massive fireball.
Air base officials confirmed that the four crew members were recovered in stable condition and taken for medical evaluations. Thanks to the remote impact zone, no injuries were reported on the ground among the hundreds of spectators or base personnel.
Following the crash, the military base was immediately placed on lockdown, and the remainder of Sunday’s airshow events were canceled. While aviation experts note that midair formation accidents rarely afford pilots the time to safely eject, the unusual way the planes remained structurally intact together likely saved the crew’s lives. A full military investigation is currently underway to determine the exact cause of the collision.
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