Heart-stopping moment Navy jets collide in midair forcing pilots to escape in parachutes

Published: 20:40, 17 May 2026 | Updated: 20:56, 17 May 2026 Heart-stopping video showed the moment Navy jets collided midair forcing pilots to eject in parachutes. Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho was holding its Gunfighter Skies air show on Sunday when the chaos erupted. A video on social media showed the two aircraft colliding and tumbling midair before both jets plummeted to the ground.  The pilots were forced to escape the crash by parachute and were seen descending as black smoke plumes rose from the ground.  The base reportedly locked down shortly after 12.30pm, as Mountain Home Air Force base spokesperson Antwain Hanks confirmed the collision to the Idaho Statesman. 'We had four good parachutes,' an air show announcer said, per the outlet. 'The crews were able to eject. They’re located one mile south of where the smoke is. The parachutes came down.'  'Crash fire rescue and various other emergency services are on their way to the pilots and crew. There were four good parachutes,' per a follow-up announcement. Rescue crews responded Sunday to a crash during the Gunfighter Skies air show at Mountain Home Air Force Base The pilots were forced to escape the crash by parachute and were seen descending as black smoke plumes rose from the ground A video on social media showed the two aircraft colliding and tumbling midair before both jets plummeted to the ground 'That is always a positive in our world. If you are so inclined to take the time now to say a prayer,' the announcement continued. An Idaho Statesman reporter in attendance saw sparks in the sky, followed by smoke clouds and pilots descending by parachute.  Along with first responders, an emergency helicopter was dispatched to the scene, the outlet reported.  The last Gunfighter Skies airshow was in 2018, when a hang glider pilot tragically died in a horrific accident.  Another tragic incident occurred in 2003 when a Thunderbird plane crashed, though the pilot ejected safely.  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.