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Four naval aviators ejected from their E/A-18G fighter jets and parachuted safely to the ground after their planes collided in midair during an air show. The aviators and two jets were part of the Navy’s E/A-18G Growler Demonstration Team, which was performing at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.
“All four of the aircrew successfully ejected and they are being evaluated by medical personnel,” Cmdr. Amelia Umayam, a spokesperson for Naval Air Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet, told Task & Purpose. “First responders are on the scene.”
At approximately 12:10 p.m., the two Navy E/A-18G assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 129 from Whidbey Island, Washington, collided during their demonstration, Umayam said. Each E/A-18G flies with both a pilot and an electronic warfare officer.
A photo posted by KBTV and a video posted to the popular Amn/nco/snco Facebook page appeared to show the two fighters locked together in the air and tumbling towards the ground as all four crew members eject.
The incident happened two miles northwest of Mountain Home during the Gunfighter Skies Air Show, a base spokesperson told Task & Purpose.
Planes appeared to lock in mid-air
Video posted to social media shows the two Growlers flying close together before, extraordinarily, appearing to become locked together in midair, one on top of the other. When the two planes immediately pitch upwards and appear to stall, both crews eject, less than five seconds after the initial collision.
Still stuck together, the planes then cartwheel to the ground, crash and explode. The crew’s four parachutes are seen inflated and drifting downward near the crash site.
Witnesses and media flooded social media with photos of thick black smoke from the air show. The Idaho Statesman reported that an air show announcer said, “We had four good parachutes. The crews were able to eject.”
The E/A-18G Growler is a variant of the F/A-18 fighter with weapons and electronic systems dedicated to electronic warfare tasks, like finding and attacking enemy radar locations. VAQ-129 is, like nearly of the Navy’s Growler units, based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington, which is also home to the initial schoolhouse for pilots and flight officers assigned to the plane.
A Whidbey-based E/A-18G crashed in 2024 on a training flight near Mt. Rainier.
KTVB also posted an interview with Navy Lt. Kevin Lynch, a member of the demonstration team, that appeared to be taken Saturday.
Four pilots and four electronic warfare officers from the Navy’s Growler Demonstration Team were taking part in the Gunfighter Skies Air Show.
This year’s Gunfighter Skies show was the first held in eight years. In 2018, a hang glider died during a crash. The two-day air show features vintage aircraft as well as air show teams from the Navy and Air Force.
Update: 5/17/2026; This story has been updated with confirmation of the aviators’ safe ejections and other information from the Navy and Air Force.
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Nicholas Slayton is a Contributing Editor for Task & Purpose. In addition to covering breaking news, he writes about history, shipwrecks, and the military’s hunt for unidentified anomalous phenomenon (formerly known as UFOs).
