Fighter pilots say Growler crews’ safe ejections were a ‘miracle’

All four Navy aircrew members involved in a midair collision Sunday over an Idaho airshow survived ejecting from their planes, Navy officials confirmed Monday, an outcome that several retired fighter pilots described as extraordinary.

The mishap came when two Navy E/A-18G Growlers appeared to become stuck together in midair during a demonstration flight over Mountain Home Air Force Base. All four crew of the two-person jets ejected almost instantly as the planes stalled, including the two aviators whose jet had become stuck underneath the other plane.

All four landed safely under parachutes as the two jets tumbled into a fiery crash, Navy officials said Monday. Three aviators were unscathed.

“One aircrew is being treated for a non-life-threatening injury at a local hospital,” a Navy spokesperson said in a release.

Video of the crash spread on social media in the hours after the collision and several former fighter pilots told Task & Purpose that the crew’s survival was remarkable. Most notable, they said, was the safe ejection by the crew in the Growler stuck underneath its wing man.

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Source: Task & Purpose
Website: taskandpurpose.com