Idaho reopens highway after removing wreckage from Mountain Home air show crash
The Idaho Transportation Department has reopened a state highway that was closed nearly a month ago when a midair fighter jet collision during an air show at Mountain Home Air Force Base left aircraft wreckage on the roadway.
ITD officials said in a news release Thursday that Idaho 167, also known as Grand View Road, is now open to traffic. The route is a 16-mile connection between Idaho 78, or Marsing Murphy Road, near Grand View and Idaho 67, which is also called Airbase Road and leads to the base’s main gate.
The news release said the U.S. Navy removed aircraft wreckage and “potentially hazardous materials” from the road and surrounding area following the collision of two E/A-18G Growler aircraft during the Gunfighter Skies air show on May 17.
The Idaho Statesman has reached out to Navy officials for more information on the materials removed.
Video of the crash shared with the Statesman showed the airplanes colliding, spinning together and crashing to the ground in a fiery explosion.
All four crew members in the aircraft, who military officials previously said were from the Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 129 from Whidbey Island in Washington state, ejected from the aircraft. Three were uninjured, and one was treated for non-life threatening injuries.
ITD said crews also repaired 370 feet of the highway and reconstructed the shoulders of the roadway.
