Two F/A-18 Hornets from the U.S. Navy collided mid-air Sunday afternoon during the Gunfighter Skies Air Show at Mountain Home Air Force Base in western Idaho. The crash occurred just outside the base perimeter, sending a large plume of smoke into the sky visible for miles. All four crew members—two from each jet—ejected safely and were recovered without serious injuries by responding emergency crews, according to Kim Sykes, marketing director for Silver Wings of Idaho, the show’s organizer. Sykes told reporters she didn’t see the collision itself but spotted the smoke immediately afterward and called 911. The base announced a temporary lockdown on social media as personnel secured the area and diverted incoming air traffic. Officials confirmed no one on the ground was harmed and the base resumed normal operations within hours. The Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Navy have launched a joint investigation to determine what caused the mid-air collision and why the planes failed to maintain proper separation. Witnesses described seeing two aircraft suddenly veer into each other during a high-speed maneuver. Videos posted online show four parachutes opening in quick succession as the crippled jets descended. The footage, widely shared on social platforms, has drawn immediate attention from aviation safety experts questioning standard air show protocols. This wasn’t the first close call at a U.S. military air show this year. In March, two F-22 Raptors from the U.S. Air Force came within 200 feet of each other during a demonstration in Florida before breaking apart without collision. That incident prompted the Pentagon to review aerial display safety procedures. Officials at Mountain Home AFB declined to comment on whether this weekend’s crash involved similar high-risk maneuvers, but Sykes confirmed the show included formation flying and afterburner passes typical of military aerial demonstrations. The Navy has not released the names or ranks of the involved pilots, citing privacy concerns during the ongoing investigation. Local residents near the base described hearing a loud explosion before seeing black smoke billowing over a rural area just south of the runway. One farmer told local news the debris field stretched across two fields but caused no structural damage. The investigation is expected to take several weeks, with preliminary findings likely released by mid-June. The incident raises fresh questions about the safety of high-performance jet displays, especially as military budgets tighten and air shows become more frequent across the country. Aviation analysts note that military demonstration teams like the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds use strict separation rules, but civilian spectators often expect more thrilling—and riskier—performances. The F/A-18 Hornet involved is a twin-engine, supersonic multirole combat jet used widely by the Navy and Marine Corps. Known for its agility and role in air shows, it’s also a workhorse in combat zones from the Persian Gulf to the South China Sea. This collision comes just months after the Navy grounded its entire fleet of F/A-18 Super Hornets for six weeks in 2023 due to structural fatigue cracks found in the aircraft’s fuselage. While investigators emphasized no connection exists between that grounding and Sunday’s crash, the timing adds pressure on the service to address both maintenance and training protocols. The Mountain Home Air Force Base, home to the 366th Fighter Wing, has hosted the Gunfighter Skies Air Show annually since 2010. The family-friendly event draws thousands of visitors and serves as a major recruitment tool for the Air Force and Navy. Despite the scare, Sykes said the show would continue as planned the following day, though the collision sequence was removed from the schedule. The base commander issued a statement thanking first responders and praising the crew’s quick reactions. “Safety remains our top priority,” the statement read. “We’re committed to learning from this incident and ensuring it never happens again.” Until then, the air show community and military aviation world will be watching closely—especially after the dramatic footage went viral. Experts say even minor miscalculations in timing or altitude can turn a dazzling performance into a disaster within seconds.

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  • Source: Fortune
  • Published: May 17, 2026 at 21:13 UTC
  • Category: Business
  • Topics: #fortune · #business · #economy · #war · #conflict · #four

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Curated by GlobalBR News · May 17, 2026

🇧🇷 Resumo em Português

O acidente chocou os amantes da aviação no fim de semana: dois caças da Marinha dos EUA colidiram durante um show aéreo em Idaho, resultando em um espetáculo de fogo e fumaça que viralizou nas redes sociais. O vídeo do impacto, amplamente compartilhado, mostra o momento em que as aeronaves se chocam no ar, obrigando os quatro tripulantes a acionarem seus assentos ejetáveis — todos escaparam ilesos, mas a cena levantou questionamentos sobre a segurança em demonstrações de voo.

O episódio reacende o debate sobre os riscos de acidentes em shows aéreos, especialmente aqueles envolvendo aeronaves militares de alta performance. Nos últimos anos, incidentes semelhantes — como o acidente com caças da Esquadrilha da Fumaça em 2019, que resultou em vítimas fatais — já haviam chamado a atenção da população brasileira para a importância de protocolos rigorosos de segurança. Embora o acidente nos EUA não envolva brasileiros, ele serve como alerta para o setor aéreo nacional, onde a realização de demonstrações de voo requer atenção redobrada, tanto na manutenção das aeronaves quanto na capacitação das tripulações.

A investigação das autoridades americanas deve esclarecer as causas do choque, mas o caso já reforça a necessidade de revisão constante das normas de segurança em eventos desse tipo.

🇪🇸 Resumen en Español

Dos aviones de combate de la Armada estadounidense chocaron durante un espectáculo aéreo en Idaho este domingo, aunque todos los tripulantes lograron eyectarse sin sufrir daños. Las imágenes, difundidas en redes sociales, muestran el momento del impacto en pleno vuelo, un suceso que ha generado preocupación por la seguridad de estas exhibiciones.

El incidente, ocurrido en el seno de una base militar, está siendo investigado para determinar las causas exactas de la colisión, que ha reavivado el debate sobre los riesgos asociados a los vuelos acrobáticos públicos. Para los hispanohablantes, este tipo de noticias recuerda la importancia de los protocolos de seguridad en eventos de alto riesgo, no solo en el ámbito militar, sino también en el civil, donde espectáculos similares atraen a miles de espectadores cada año. La rápida actuación de los pilotos evitó un desenlace trágico, pero el accidente subraya la necesidad de extremar las precauciones en actividades que combinan velocidad, precisión y multitudes.