Two U.S. Navy EA-18 fighter jets collided during an air show at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho. The jets were performing an aerobatic maneuver in close proximity when they ran into each other mid-air. All four crewmembers involved in the incident safely ejected and landed in a nearby field.

The base was immediately put on lock down, and the remainder of the airshow was cancelled. No spectators were harmed by the crash, even though the wreckage of both jets came down inside the base itself. Kim Sykes, the Marketing Director for Silver Wings Idaho, said, ‘everybody is safe, and that’s the most important thing.’

While the cause of the crash is still under investigation by the U.S. military, air shows play an important role in both showcasing American technology and military might to the public and in helping attract new recruits for all branches of service.

Because aircraft at military air shows often perform high-speed, high-risk maneuvers, there is always the danger of a mishap, either due to equipment failure, weather, or human error…

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The EA-18G Growler is a variant of the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet with sophisticated electronic warfare systems, with each jet costing nearly sixty-seven million dollars. The E in the EA-18 stands for electronic, and the A for attack, which means the aircraft is capable of performing both electronic surveillance as well as attack missions.

The advanced electronics carried by the EA-18 can jam enemy radars, disrupt communications, and neutralize enemy air defenses by blinding or confusing their systems. 

The collision at Mountain Home Air Force Base involved two U.S. Navy EA18-G Growlers from the Electronic Attack Squadron 129 in Whidbey Island, Washington, said Cmdr. Amelia Umayam, spokesperson for Naval Air Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet.

Demonstration aircraft are often taken from active combat units, and demonstration teams can spend months traveling and performing airshows at a wide variety of venues. For demo teams, air shows often become a full-time job for the duration of their tour of duty. When demo duty is completed, those aviators usually rejoin their active units for regular operations. 

Despite high skill levels of crewmembers, state of the art technology, and rigorous training requirements, mishaps can still occur at public air shows. One of the deadliest air show crashes occurred at Fairchild Air Force Base in 1994 when a B-52 crashed and killed all four crewmembers on board.

The cause of that crash was pilot error. It will likely be several weeks before the cause of the crash at Mountain Home is known, but since the crew members all survived, the investigative process will probably be completed more quickly.

Though the investigation has just begun, the most likely cause of this crash appears to have been operator error. Neither of the aircraft appeared to have any mechanical problems, and weather was not a factor. Video footage of the crash will likely also help investigators determine the cause more quickly. 

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