Two Navy Growlers collide during Idaho air show, all four crew eject safely
Two EA-18G Growler aircraft from the US Navy’s Growler Demo Team collided in mid-air during the Gunfighter Skies Air Show at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho on May 17, 2026.
The supplied Aviationist report says all four crew members ejected safely after the collision. Video and photos referenced in the article show the moment the aircraft came into close proximity and the ejections that followed. The most immediate confirmed fact is that both crews survived the incident.
The aircraft were from VAQ-129, the Growler Demonstration Team, and the collision happened during an aerial performance rather than a combat mission. That distinction matters because it means the incident occurred in a controlled demonstration setting, but one that still carried obvious risk.
The report says footage circulated online captured the sequence of events and that photographer Shane Ogden filmed the full incident. The article’s account suggests the aircraft converged during the display, with the lead aircraft appearing to turn as they closed in and contact followed. The source does not claim a final official cause, so the report should not go beyond what the evidence shows.
After the impact, the aircraft separated and the crews ejected. The article says the two airframes crashed after the collision. Because the source is focused on the incident itself, it does not provide a detailed breakdown of injuries or subsequent investigation steps, beyond the fact that all four crew members got out.
Air show accidents attract attention because they combine military hardware, public viewing and a rapid sequence of events that is often first understood through video. In this case, the visual evidence appears to have been crucial to reconstructing the collision. But the source remains careful not to present speculation as analysis.
The incident also raises immediate questions about safety protocols, separation and the complexity of flying demonstration aircraft in close formation. Those questions are natural, but they remain questions. The supplied reporting does not identify mechanical failure, pilot error or weather as the cause.
For now, the key news is that a highly visible military aviation accident ended without reported loss of life. The two aircraft were destroyed in the collision and crash, but the four crew members survived after ejecting safely. That outcome is likely to dominate the early discussion while investigators determine how the mid-air collision occurred.
Air show incidents are often remembered for the suddenness of the moment, but they also trigger a formal safety response. The supplied reporting does not detail that phase, yet it is implicit in the destruction of both aircraft and the survival of all four crew members that investigators will now need to reconstruct the flight path, timing and separation of the two jets.
The footage also helped establish the order of events, which is often crucial in aerial incidents where seconds matter. Viewers can see the aircraft coming close together before the apparent contact and the ejections that follow. That visual record makes the crash especially stark, but the source still stops short of assigning blame.
