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Two U.S. Navy EA-18G Growlers Collide Midair at Idaho Air Show, Crew Safe

Two U.S. Navy EA-18G Growlers Collide Midair at Idaho Air Show, Crew Safe
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Two U.S. Navy EA‑18G Growler jets collided in midair and crashed during the Gunfighter Skies Air Show at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho on Sunday, forcing a lockdown of the base but injuring no one on the ground, officials said kivitv +1. All four crew members ejected, were recovered and were in stable condition after medical evaluation, according to Navy and Air Force statements kivitv +2.

The collision occurred shortly after noon local time on May 17 during an aerial demonstration about two miles northwest of the base, which lies southeast of Boise kivitv +1. The aircraft, assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron 129 based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington, were performing on the second day of the free public show when witnesses saw them make contact and fall in flames, videos posted online showed kivitv +2. Organizers canceled the remainder of the event, and authorities asked the public to avoid the area while emergency crews responded and a brush fire at the crash site was contained foxnews +1.

How the Collision Unfolded and the Immediate Response

Mountain Home Air Force Base announced a lockdown at about 12:30 p.m. local time as security teams and fire crews were dispatched to the crash area northwest of the installation kivitv +1. Spectators were initially kept on base while first responders secured the scene; they were later allowed to leave in phases as officials confirmed there was no ongoing threat and that the fire had been brought under control foxnews.

Witnesses reported seeing four parachutes deploy in the sky moments after the jets appeared to collide, followed by black smoke and explosions as the aircraft hit the ground kivitv +1. “Everyone is safe and I think that’s the most important thing,” said Kim Sykes, marketing director for Silver Wings of Idaho, which helped organize the show devdiscourse. Navy spokesperson Cmdr. Amelia Umayam said the aircrew were being evaluated by medical personnel and were in stable condition kivitv +1.

Safety Record, Investigation and Air‑Show Risk

Military officials opened a formal safety investigation into what caused the Growlers to strike each other during the maneuver, with Naval and Air Force safety boards expected to examine factors such as flight profiles, communications, weather and human error newsnationnow. The Federal Aviation Administration referred inquiries to the base, standard practice when military aircraft are involved and no civilian casualties are reported newsnationnow.

The incident revived memories of past U.S. air‑show accidents, including the 2022 Wings Over Dallas midair collision that killed six people and led the National Transportation Safety Board to fault event planning and airspace deconfliction bbc. Yet industry representatives stressed that such crashes have become rarer: roughly 200 air shows are held annually in the United States, and fatalities have fallen to about one per year in the past decade, with no U.S. air‑show deaths recorded in 2024 or 2025, according to the International Council of Air Shows devdiscourse.

The Bigger Picture

For Mountain Home, home to about 8,600 service members and families, the crash turned what was billed as a celebratory return of the Gunfighter Skies show—its first since 2018—into a stark reminder of the risks behind high‑performance demonstrations dw +1. With all four aviators surviving and no reported injuries on the ground, investigators will focus on how a catastrophic midair collision could occur during a carefully scripted routine, and whether any procedural changes are needed before the Growler fleet or similar displays return to the skies over Idaho and beyond newsnationnow +1.