On Sunday, May 17, 2026, on the second day of the Gunfighter Skies Air Show 2026 at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, two Boeing EA-18G Growler electronic warfare and air defense suppression aircraft from the Growler Demonstration Team of Electronic Attack Squadron 129 “Vikings” (VAQ-129) collided in mid-air. All four crew members from both aircraft managed to eject.
2 E/A-18G Growlers from the VAQ-129 Growler Demo Team are reported to have collided during the Gunfighter Skies Airshow at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho today. Both crews are reported to have ejected safely. pic.twitter.com/k5SWJ9mz1u
— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) May 17, 2026
A video recording of the incident appeared on social media, captured by photographer Shane Odgen, who published it on his Facebook profile:
Video: Shane Ogden via Facebook
The course of the collision itself was unusual. Initially, the aircraft approached each other, and then, when the lead aircraft performed a right turn, the second aircraft struck it. For a moment, both aircraft became locked together, rapidly increasing their angle of attack. This led to a loss of controlled flight and altitude, after which both crews ejected almost simultaneously.
Given that both aircraft were extremely close to each other at the moment of ejection, it seems that fatalities were avoided only by a miracle. The aircraft crashed about 3 km from Mountain Home Air Force Base.
Photo sequence right after the ejection. Our good friend Henk Zuurbier was at the show today at Mountain Home AFB, ID. Wow! pic.twitter.com/7I9LaoxyLr
— RampCheck Aviation (@rampcheckglobal) May 17, 2026
We took screenshots of the ejection sequence from video captured by Shane Ogden. The jets remained entangled all the way to the ground. The crew in the lower jet appears incredibly fortunate, as the upper jet was not directly over their canopy. This could have ended much worse.… pic.twitter.com/D924hbrqpG
— RampCheck Aviation (@rampcheckglobal) May 17, 2026
The crashed aircraft were identified as EA-18Gs with registration number NJ-502 and serial number 168895, and registration number NJ-540 and serial number 168252.
The collision looks to have been involving EA-18G 168895 “NJ-502” and EA-18G 168252 “NJ-540”.#AE53C5 / #AE2F0D https://t.co/JYtk4cnIaC
— Nick ✈︎ (@N214WN) May 17, 2026
Mid-air collision of two U.S. Navy EA-18G Growlers (BuNo 168252 and 168895). Steel balls, crews waited about 5 seconds before ejecting! https://t.co/Gni9miqP2D pic.twitter.com/Ll2l774AUW
— The Military Watch (@MarcinRogowsk14) May 17, 2026
After the accident, the organizers of the Gunfighter Skies Air Show 2026 immediately suspended the event and canceled further planned demonstration flights.
The Growler Demonstration Team was formed in 2020 at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington State. Until the accident, the U.S. Navy operated 153 EA-18G aircraft. The previous accident involving an aircraft of this type occurred on February 12, 2025, when an aircraft from VAQ-135 “Ravens” crashed in the waters of San Diego Bay; both crew members ejected. Earlier, on October 15, 2024, another aircraft struck the slopes of Mount Rainier in Washington State.
Before these accidents, there had been two less serious incidents: on March 11, 2024, when a tire burst occurred at Misawa Air Base in Japan, and on May 14, 2018, when one of the aircraft suffered a fuel-system failure during a flight from Andersen Air Force Base on Guam to the aforementioned Misawa.
The only export user is Australia, which operates 12 aircraft; one was purchased in 2021 to replace the aircraft that crashed on January 28, 2018, at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. Aircraft of this type, in a package together with the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, were unsuccessfully offered to Finland, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates.