Four crew members ejected from their EA-18 Growlers after the two aircraft collided at an airshow in Idaho on Sunday afternoon. The aircraft were taking part in the Gunfighter Skies Air Show at Mountain Home Air Force Base, about 40 miles southeast of Boise, when the two jets came together while setting up for a maneuver. They fused together in flight and pitched up before tumbling as all four crew members ejected almost simultaneously. The accident happened about 1:20 Mountain Time on the second day of the airshow. They all landed within a few hundred feet of one another seconds after the aircraft exploded on impact. The area has been sealed off and more details are expected shortly. The earliest version of this story incorrectly named the airshow.
BREAKING: Two U.S. Navy jets collided mid-air and exploded during the Gunfighter Skies Air Show at Mountain Home Air Force Base. pic.twitter.com/R66ADWM2TY
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) May 17, 2026
Poof…. there goes $100+M worth of very difficult to replace electronic warfare aircraft. At least the crews are OK.
I had the same thought. Aren’t the G models out of production? Glad the crews are apparently safe.
And depending on who you ask, anywhere from $20K to $36K per hour to operate.
And here we have another stunt posted posted for the YouTube. I wonder though, will this result in another “ride along”.
You got a problem with FREEDOM buddy?!😂😂😂
Not smart to spot-weld two FA-18’s while airborne. Valued last year at $67M each.Glad they all got out.
I suspect it was actually two Naval Aviators and two Naval Flight Officers.
I’m thinking they were fortunate that the ejections didn’t slam them in to the planes? Or maybe that wouldn’t happen? So glad the pilots are OK!
Technically 2x Naval Aviators, 2x Naval Flight Officers. Very lucky all seat trajectories apparently cleared wreckage.
Made accurate by being less precise. I changed it to “crew members.” Thanks for the sharp eyes, folks
Thank you for your service!
And while you’re editing, you should change the event name to “Gunfighter Skies”, not “Gunslinger Air Show”.
sloppy error in the heat of the moment. Fixed now and thanks for letting us know
A silly way to lose 2 highly valuable planes. As the previous reader wrote, with the F/A-18 production line closing for good, these will be hard to replace.
Sad to lose the airplanes, certainly glad the crew are safe.
I don’t think it’s a “silly” way to lose the airplanes at all – air show performances are an incredible art and help inspire the next generation of pilots. What other opportunity does the public have to see the amazing capabilities of these aircraft in-person and get this unique sensory experience?
I think the risks of this were known and accepted. Like any other aviation activity, hopefully the things to be learned from this are used to improve safety in the future
Agreed, not silly. Airshows are the best recruitment programs any military has. I would wager good money that, if asked, most military aviators would list “Inspired at an airshow” as one of the reasons they decided to join.
True, it was one reason I joined. I’m very thankful for the Blues and all other well-executed demos. The documentary on the Blues that came out a couple years ago captured well the discipline required for premiere demonstrations.
I agree with supporting air shows, but they need to be highly choreographed and precisely executed. I think this is the same two-plane growler routine I saw at Oshkosh two years ago which was so lame I was embarrassed for the Navy. I resolved to write to CNAF about it but forgot.
The fact is, some of the active duty demo pilots just aren’t experienced and mature enough to fully appreciate the risks involved and have a plan for every contingency. It happened many years ago with the Superhornet single-ship performance demo. The discipline in the program decayed gradually over time until the crash. It was nothing like the highly-disciplined Boeing demo program. It was a bunch of Lieutenants running with scissors.
This one is bizarre…appears that the joining pilot lost sight but pressed on. Thankfully they didn’t entangle on ejection. I agree with the commenter who called it “silly,” but I would actually characterize it as “shameful.”
I’m so old I remember electronic warfare airplanes didn’t exceed 30 deg pitch or 60 deg bank😂
Now that’s what you call “close formation.”
I thought that is how baby planes are made! 😉
Ouch, what a screwup. But happy everybody safe.