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Navy E/A-18G Growlers Collide At Idaho Air Show (Updated)

Talyn

Talyn

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Two E/A-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft collided during the Gunfighter Skies Air Show in Mountain Home, Idaho on Sunday, in a mishap captured in dramatic videos.

The four crew members of the aircraft, from Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 129‘s NAS Whidbey Island-based Growler Airshow Team, were able to eject right after the collision and are being evaluated by medical personnel, according to media reports.

The incident took place two miles northwest of the base, according to the 366th Fighter Wing’s Facebook page. The Growler Airshow Team puts on two-jet displays.

Video of the incident showed one of the Growlers close in on and then collide with the other from behind, striking the lead aircraft’s rear with its nose from above. They then became entangled together, nose up, and then down, before tumbling to the ground.

Four small explosions from ejection seats blasting out of the falling Growlers can be seen before the parachutes of the four crew members opened up. The Growlers hit the ground, exploding into a ball of flames, followed by the crew members floating down in their parachutes.

www.twz.com

Navy E/A-18G Growlers Collide At Idaho Air Show (Updated)

All four crew members ejected as the aircraft became entangled and plummeted to the ground.
www.twz.com www.twz.com







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Talyn said:
EA/18G Growlers are electronic warfare aircraft, in very short-supply, and don't do their missions by doing airshow maneuvers within shaving distance from other aircraft.
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That's what i was thinking. But my first thought was that the information was just mistaken from media guesswork. Losing two Growlers would be a big loss.

But I'm afraid that, since from the photos both planes had identical pods underneath (and i don't know what the latest jammer pods look like), they might actually be Growlers. I don't know. I want to be wrong....they may still be building Super Hornets but they've stopped building Growlers, so it's hard to think they'd intentionally even be training close quarters with anything other than a tanker....let alone have a demo team
 
OK, I was wrong. They do have a demo team- VAQ-129 EA-18G Growler Demo Team out of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington.

I'm glad everyone's OK, but i thought the Blue Angels were a pretty effective F-18 Demo Team
 
The two Growlers were only flying with centerline drop tanks (fuel). None of the two types of large removeable ALQ jamming pods were fitted although the ALQ-218's on the wingtips are a permanent install.

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The ALQ-99's look like drop tanks except for the power generator props & their shape,...

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and the new ALQ-249 pods don't have the props and look even more like a drop tank.

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www.twz.com

How The EA-18G Growler's Next-Generation Jamming Pod Went To War On Its First Cruise

Here is what the squadron commander and program manager said about the EA-18G's new AN/ALQ-249 jamming pods, which were thrust into combat last year.
www.twz.com www.twz.com

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Thanks, Talyn. I recognized the wingtips but i got hung up on the drop tank, thinking they wouldn't need to actually need drop tanks when shuttling until (duh !) I realized they don't HAVE to drop them and could just be using them for extra fuel capacity....

FWIW, it's been extremely windy on much of the west side of the country. Wind damage on the coasts...they'd closed I-80 because of wind in Wyoming, for instance. But I would expect Navy pilots to handle that, because they can handle conditions much worse than that, especially in daylight.

Curiouser and curiouser.
 
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Yes, we've ben pretty windy out here the last couple weeks, and the Snake River Plain (where Mountain Home is) is wind prone.

The air show at Mountain Home has a history of plane crashes.

Having travelled thru southern WY on I-80 many many times the winds are pretty regular and predictable regardless of the big weather front that went thru here then dropped down into WY. Winter storms in WY, and the rest of the Interior West, are an experience.
 
Shibadog said:
A two bird demo team and they collide? Somebody screwed up BIG time…Glad the all got out ok.
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thats because that squadron is NOT A DEMO team, its an active duty go do your nations business squadron
leave aerobatics to the blue angles or thunder birds
somebody in the COC thought it would be a good idea to go to an airshow, of which we did all the time in helicopters too
and the urge to show boat can overwhelm the rules of DO NOT DO THIS

these guys and gals fly superb aircraft for disrupting coms etc, they are very lucky and to not be dead,
and now they will be grounded for a bit etc
takes 2 ready to fight pricey planes out of the fight so to speak, plus aircrew, plus maybe a command CO.
but in the end so glad the aircrew were not killed



(y)
 
powerboatr said:
thats because that squadron is NOT A DEMO team, its an active duty go do your nations business squadron
leave aerobatics to the blue angles or thunder birds
somebody in the COC thought it would be a good idea to go to an airshow, of which we did all the time in helicopters too
and the urge to show boat can overwhelm the rules of DO NOT DO THIS

these guys and gals fly superb aircraft for disrupting coms etc, they are very lucky and to not be dead,
and now they will be grounded for a bit etc
takes 2 ready to fight pricey planes out of the fight so to speak, plus aircrew, plus maybe a command CO.
but in the end so glad the aircrew were not killed



(y)
Click to expand...
Agree. I used to work with an ECMO who would go up to Whidbey regularly to do some training. If I wanted a demo team, the folks at Whidbey, though professionals they may be, would be the last ones I would call.
 
The EA-18G is an electronic warfare variant of the F/A-18F Super Hornet, which shares about 90% of its airframe and components. The Growler's highly advanced and complex avionics suite is primarily what pushes the per-unit cost higher than that of a standard Super Hornet.


What the Idaho Statesman didn't disclose was...

A single Boeing EA-18G Growler costs approximately $67 million to $68 million per flyaway unit. However, when including specialized electronic warfare suites, advanced radar, initial support services, and spare parts, the total procurement cost for the U.S. Navy easily rises to $152 million per operational aircraft.

Cost Breakdown
  • Flyaway Cost: Roughly $67 million covers the basic airframe and standard systems.
  • Equipped Cost: Adding the full spectrum ALQ-99/Next Generation Jammer pods, AN/ALQ-218 receivers, and other classified electronic attack equipment significantly increases the overall price tag.
  • Replacement Value: Adjusted for modern dollars and support packages, replacing a lost Growler runs about $152 million.
  • Operating Cost: The cost to fly an F/A-18 and EA-18 variant for a single hour is approximately $10,500.
$152 million USD per EA-18G X 2 = $304 million cost to the US taxpayers for the incident.
 
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