Four crew members survive after two Navy jets collide at Idaho air show
Rebecca Boone
Boise, Idaho: All four crew members were evacuated safely after two Navy jets collided and crashed during an air show at Mountain Home Air Force Base in western Idaho, officials said.
The collision, which occurred on Sunday (US time), involved two US Navy EA18-G Growlers from Electronic Attack Squadron 129 on Whidbey Island, Washington, the commander said. Amelia Umayam, U.S. Pacific Fleet Naval Air Force spokeswoman.
In his statement, Umayam said that the plane was performing an aerial demonstration when the accident occurred. He said all four crew members on both jets were evacuated safely and were evaluated by medical personnel. He said the investigation into the accident is continuing.
No one on the military base was injured, said Kim Sykes, marketing manager for Silver Wings of Idaho, which helped plan the air show.
“Everybody is safe and I think that’s the most important thing,” Sykes said.
It was stated in the social media post that the base was locked down after the incident.
Videos posted online by viewers showed four parachutes opening in the sky as the plane crashed to the ground near the base, about 50 miles south of Boise.
Shane Ogden said he filmed two jets approaching each other. In a video he captured, the two planes are seen making contact and then spinning together as crew members eject and their parachutes deploy. The planes then crash together, bursting into a fireball on impact as crew members crash to the ground nearby.
“I was just filming thinking they were going to break up and that happened and I filmed the rest,” Ogden said in a text message. He said he left immediately after the crash because he didn’t want to get in the way of emergency responders.
Organizers said the popular air show, which included flight demonstrations and parachute jumps, was a celebration of aviation history and a glimpse into modern military capabilities. The US Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration squadron headlined the show on both days.
The National Weather Service reported that visibility was good at the time of the crash and winds were blowing up to 30 mph.
This year’s Gunfighter Skies event was the first held at the base since 2018, when a hang glider crashed during an airshow performance.
In 2003, a Thunderbirds plane crashed while trying to maneuver. The pilot, who was not injured, managed to steer the plane away from the crowd and eject the plane less than a second before it hit the ground.
The air show industry has been working for years to improve safety at the nearly 200 events held annually in the United States. The last fatal crash at an air show occurred in 2022, when two former military planes collided at an event in Dallas, killing six people.
John Cudahy, President and CEO of the International Airshow Council, said an average of two people die annually at a U.S. airshow. But over the past decade, the average has approached one death per year, he said. There were no air show deaths in 2025 or 2024, and no spectators have been killed at an air show since 1952.
“We’ve enjoyed a few crashes that are truly unprecedented from a safety standpoint,” Cudahy said.
Investigators will be able to get a quick idea of what happened in Sunday’s crash because the crews of both planes survived and will be able to tell investigators what they saw and experienced before the crash.
The Iran war has led to the cancellation of about 10 air shows this year at bases where troops fly conflict-related flights. However, most air shows were able to continue as planned.
