An air base remains in lockdown after a fiery collision between two jets occurred during a popular air show.
The Mountain Home Air Force Base in Elmore County, Idaho, was hosting the second day of the Gunfighter Skies Air Show when the incident happened on Sunday.
In videos shared on social media, two fighter jets can be seen colliding, before spinning and plummeting to the ground in flames. When they hit the ground, plumes of black smoke appear.
Four parachutes can be seen in the video.
All four crew members ejected safely and are being evaluated by medical personnel.
Nobody at the military base was hurt, said Kim Sykes, marketing director with Silver Wings of Idaho, which helped to plan the air show.
“Everyone is safe and I think that’s the most important thing,” Sykes said.
For those at the base, about three kilometres from the site of the collision, it was a shocking sight to see.
“I heard someone next to me say ‘We are down,’ I turned around and saw four parachutes coming down, then black smoke appeared,” a witness told NBC News.
“We are currently still on the airshow field and not allowed to leave at this time.
“The atmosphere is very calm controlled and well managed right now.”
The air base provided an update on their social media advising that the base was locked down about 12.30pm local time after an “aircraft incident”.
“Emergency responders are on the scene, an investigation is underway and more details will be released as they become available,” it read.
Two hours later, a further update was provided.
“Mountain Home Air Force Base has cancelled the remainder of the air show,” the statement read.
“At this time, we ask for our guests already on base to remain in the flightline area to allow first responders to move in and out of place to continue securing the incident area.
“We are working on a plan to safely allow guests to exit base as soon as possible.”
Police have asked everyone to avoid the area and the roads to the base remain closed.
Organisers said the popular air show that includes flying demonstrations and parachute jumps is a celebration of aviation history and a look at modern military capabilities. The US Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration squadron headlined the show both days.
This year’s Gunfighter Skies event was the first at the base since 2018, when a hang glider died in a crash during an air show performance.
In 2003, a Thunderbirds aircraft crashed while attempting a manoeuvre. The pilot, who was not hurt, was able to steer the plane away from the crowd and eject less than a second before it hit the ground.
The air show industry has been working to improve safety for years at the 200 events held each year in the United States.
The last fatal crash at an air show came in 2022 when two vintage military planes collided at an event in Dallas and killed six people.
- With AP
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