Midair jet collision forces lockdown at Idaho air show

Four crew members ejected safely after two U.S. Navy EA-18G Growlers collided in midair over Mountain Home Air Force Base, forcing a lockdown and ending a free air show that had drawn thousands of people to western Idaho.

The collision happened Sunday, May 17, 2026, during the Gunfighter Skies Air Show, a Saturday-Sunday event that the 366th Fighter Wing had promoted as free and open to the public. The show was set to feature the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, marking their first return to Mountain Home in eight years after their last appearance there in June 2018.

Officials said the aircraft were assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron 129, or VAQ-129, at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington. The crash site was reported about two miles northwest of Mountain Home Air Force Base, where observers saw four parachutes descending and black smoke rising from the area.

The base said the air show was canceled and the installation went into lockdown after the incident. Rescue crews responded quickly, and the four crew members were being evaluated by medical personnel. No major injuries were reported.

The episode underscored the risk built into military demonstration flying, where precision maneuvers unfold in front of large public crowds. The presence of the Thunderbirds had made this year’s Gunfighter Skies show a major return engagement for the base, but the collision immediately shifted attention from spectacle to emergency response, crowd safety, and the separation of aircraft during aerial demonstrations.

An investigation is now underway, and officials said more details would be released as they become available. For Mountain Home, the immediate question is not only how the collision happened, but how public air shows balance access, excitement and safety when military aircraft are flying low, close and fast over a packed venue.