Two U.S. Navy jets collided in midair and crashed Sunday during an air show at Mountain Home Air Force Base in western Idaho, officials said. All four crew members ejected safely and were taken for medical evaluation.
The crash involved two U.S. Navy EA-18G Growlers assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron 129, based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington, Cmdr. Amelia Umayam, a spokesperson for Naval Air Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet, said in a statement.
The aircraft were conducting an aerial demonstration when the collision happened, Umayam said. The cause remains under investigation.
Base officials said the four crew members were in stable condition. No one on the ground was injured, according to event organizers.
“Everyone is safe and I think that’s the most important thing,” said Kim Sykes, marketing director with Silver Wings of Idaho, one of the groups that helped plan the air show.
The base said in a social media post that it went into immediate lockdown after the collision. The remainder of the air show was canceled.
Videos posted online by spectators showed four parachutes opening in the sky as the aircraft dropped toward the ground near the base, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Boise.
The EA-18G Growler is a variant of the F/A-18 Super Hornet fitted with advanced electronic warfare systems. Each aircraft costs roughly $67 million.
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