Two U.S. Navy fighter jets collided midair during an aerial demonstration at the Gunfighter Skies air show near Mountain Home, Idaho, on May 17–18, 2026, and all four aircrew ejected and survived, witnesses and news outlets reported.
Video and reporting identified the planes as EA-18G Growlers performing in formation when the trailing jet struck the lead aircraft, sending both down in flames before crews ejected, according to the BBC and AP coverage of the incident.
The Idaho midair collision renewed questions about navy fighter jets safety after a wider rise in severe military aviation mishaps. PBS reported that the rate of severe accidents across the U.S. military rose about 55% in the 2024 budget year compared with four years earlier.
Defense and aviation outlets note the Mountain Home crash remains under investigation and that preliminary coverage suggested pilot error or close-formation risk may be factors, but investigators had not published a final cause in the immediate reporting from the BBC and PBS.
Experts and past reporting cited by PBS and Navy Times have linked recent increases in severe mishaps to higher flight hours, maintenance strain and training tempo, and the Naval Safety Command’s mishap statistics have been cited as the official record keeping the Class A mishap counts that analysts use to track trends.
For readers tracking navy fighter jets safety, the Idaho collision is the latest high-profile incident to join a string of crashes and near-misses that prompted broader safety reviews across naval aviation in recent years.
Sources
- BBC — reported the May 17–18, 2026 midair collision at the Gunfighter Skies air show and that all four crew ejected safely.
- Associated Press — provided scene details, timing and confirmation that all four aircrew escaped via ejection seats.
- PBS NewsHour — reported that severe military aviation accidents rose about 55% in the 2024 budget year versus four years earlier and placed the trend in context.
- Navy Times — supplied context on historical safety pauses and how the naval aviation community tracks mishap rates.
