Nothing quite kills the festive vibe of an air show like two jets deciding to occupy the same patch of sky at the same time. That is, unfortunately, exactly what appears to have happened on Sunday at Mountain Home Air Force Base in western Idaho, where an incident during the Gunfighter Skies air show sent emergency crews scrambling and put the entire base on lockdown.
What we know so far
According to a spokesperson who spoke to Reuters, an investigation is currently under way following the incident. While the Air Force has kept its official statements tight-lipped, a social media post by Airshow News - citing on-the-ground observers - reported that two EA-18G Growler jets collided approximately two miles from the base. The Growler, for the uninitiated, is the electronic warfare variant of the F/A-18F Super Hornet, a sophisticated and expensive piece of military hardware that costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $67 million per aircraft.
The detail that will give most people at least a sliver of relief: four parachutes were reportedly seen deployed following the collision, suggesting that the crews of both aircraft managed to eject. Each EA-18G carries a crew of two - a pilot and an electronic warfare officer - which would account for exactly four chutes.
The base goes into lockdown
Mountain Home Air Force Base, home of the 366th Fighter Wing and situated about 50 miles southeast of Boise, was locked down in the aftermath of the incident. Emergency crews were dispatched to respond to what officials described only as an "incident involving aircraft." The Gunfighter Skies air show, which had been drawing crowds to the base for the weekend, was obviously brought to an abrupt and sobering halt.
Still a lot of unknowns
At the time of writing, the condition of the four aircrew members has not been officially confirmed by the Air Force. The cause of the collision is also unknown and under active investigation. It is worth stressing that the parachute accounts come from social media and Airshow News reporting, not from an official Air Force statement - so while the signs are cautiously encouraging, nothing has been formally confirmed regarding crew survival or injuries.
Midair collisions at air shows, while rare, carry enormous consequences given the proximity of crowds, infrastructure, and the kinetic energy involved in high-performance military jets. Authorities have not released information on whether the crash site posed any hazard to civilians on the ground.
Updates are expected as the investigation progresses. The Guardian, which first reported the lockdown, has more details as the situation develops.
