2 Navy jets collide, crash at Idaho air show; all 4 crew eject safely

Two U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler jets collided mid-air and crashed Sunday during an air show at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, but all four crew members ejected safely and were in stable condition, ABC7 Los Angeles reported.

The crash at the Gunfighter Skies event — the first at the base since 2018 — highlighted the razor-thin margins of military formation flying. No spectators were reported injured.

The two aircraft, from Electronic Attack Squadron 129 based at Whidbey Island, Washington, collided during a formation maneuver, spiraled together and crashed, according to ABC7 Los Angeles. The jets remained locked together as they fell and exploded on impact. The base was closed immediately after the crash and the rest of the air show was canceled.

"Everyone is safe and I think that's the most important thing," said Kim Sykes, marketing director with Silver Wings of Idaho, the event's organizer.

Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said the unusual nature of the collision may have aided the crew's survival. "It looks like they struck each other in a very unique fashion to cause them to remain intact and kind of stick to each other and that very well could have saved them," Guzzetti said.

Guzzetti attributed the accident to a formation flying error rather than mechanical failure. "It appears to be a pilot issue to me," he said. "Rendezvousing with another airplane in formation flight is challenging, and it has to be done just right to prevent exactly this kind of thing."

The base is about 50 miles south of Boise. Wind gusts of up to 29 mph were reported at the time of the collision. The EA-18G Growler is a variant of the F/A-18 Super Hornet carrying sophisticated electronic warfare systems.

John Cox, CEO of Safety Operating Systems, said the incident illustrated how unforgiving air show performance can be. "Air show flying is demanding. It has very little tolerance. The people who do it are very good and it's a small margin for error. I'm glad everybody was able to get out," Cox said. The U.S. Navy will lead the investigation.

The last fatal crash at a U.S. air show came in 2022 in Dallas, killing six people. John Cudahy, president and CEO of the International Council of Air Shows, said the industry has "enjoyed really an unprecedented term of few accidents" in recent years. No spectators have been killed at a U.S. air show since 1952.