IDAHO: Two US Navy fighter jets collided and crashed during an air show at Mountain Home Air Force Base, but all four crew members ejected safely, US officials said.
The incident involved two EA-18G Growler aircraft assigned to the US Navy’s Electronic Attack Squadron 129. The jets are based at Whidbey Island.
Commander Amelia Umayam, spokesperson for Naval Air Forces US Pacific Fleet, said the aircraft were taking part in an aerial demonstration when the collision occurred.
All four personnel parachuted safely from the aircraft and were taken for medical evaluation, officials said.
Authorities said no one on the ground at the military base was injured.
Kim Sykes, marketing director for the air show organiser Silver Wings of Idaho, said the most important outcome was that all personnel survived safely.
The air base was placed under immediate lockdown after the crash.
Videos circulating on social media showed four parachutes opening in the sky as the aircraft spiralled toward the ground before erupting into large fireballs on impact.
Eyewitness Shane Ogden said he was filming the aircraft when they flew extremely close to each other and collided.
“They went down together, spinning toward the ground, but the crew got out in time,” he said.
Organisers said the “Gunfighter Skies” event aimed to showcase aviation history and modern military capabilities. The US Air Force’s famous United States Air Force Thunderbirds squadron also participated in the show.
The US National Weather Service said weather conditions were clear at the time of the crash, although winds reached up to 29 miles per hour.
The event was held for the first time since 2018. During the same air show in 2018, a hang glider pilot was killed in an accident.
US authorities have spent years working to improve safety standards at air shows.
In 2022, six people were killed after two vintage military aircraft collided during an air show in Dallas.
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John Cudahy, president of the International Council of Air Shows, said accident rates at air shows had declined significantly over the past decade, with no fatalities reported at air shows in 2024 and 2025.
