From F-16 to Su-35: Every Major Jet Has Fallen — Except the Ones That Never Fly
From American to Russian to European jets, air-show crashes have touched almost every major fighter in service. The risks of low-altitude aerobatics spare no aircraft, regardless of pedigree. Pilots face extreme margins, and machines perform far beyond routine envelopes. Yet some jets stay grounded at global shows — avoiding risks others take.
Pratik Saxena
11/21/20251 min read
Air shows have pushed the world’s finest fighter jets to their limits — and sometimes beyond them. From F-16s to Su-35s, even the most celebrated platforms have fallen in front of global audiences. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s JF-17 avoids air shows altogether, not because it’s flawless, but because its crash record at home speaks for itself. When a jet refuses the stage, the silence becomes louder than any sonic boom.
List of Major Mainstream Fighter Jets With Air-Show Crashes
🇺🇸 F-16 Fighting Falcon — United States
Multiple air-show crashes worldwide, caused by low-altitude manoeuvres, flameouts and G-LOC.
Operators affected include the USA, Bahrain and Belgium.
USAF F/A-18 Hornet — United States
Blue Angels fatal crash, Canadian Hornet demo crash, and various high-alpha display mishaps.
USAF F-35 Lightning II — United States
2023 air-show landing failure (B-model).
Not a ground crash, but a major public demo failure captured on video.
FR Mirage 2000 — France / India
Demo crashes in both French and Indian Air Force events.
Losses tied to low-altitude manoeuvring.
FR Rafale — France
2009 pre-air-show practice crash due to tight manoeuvre envelope.
SE Gripen (JAS-39) — Sweden
1989 Stockholm air-show crash, 1993 follow-up crash — both high-profile embarrassments at the time.
EU Eurofighter Typhoon — Spain
2010 Spanish Typhoon crashed during air-show practice; pilot killed.
RU Su-30 — Russia
2019 MAKS air-show crash.
RU Su-35 — Russia
Multiple demo losses, including bird strike and thrust-vectoring misjudgements.
RU MiG-29 — Russia
Three major air-show crashes over the years, including the infamous Ramstein 1988 mid-air collision.
CN J-10 — China
2016 Chinese air-show practice crash; pilot lost his life.
IT MB-339 (Frecce Tricolori) — Italy
Multiple air-show accidents involving Italy’s national aerobatic team over several decades.
Air-show crashes happen to the best — American, European, Russian, even Chinese jets have all gone down while performing for the world. That’s the nature of pushing machines and pilots to their absolute limits. But Pakistan’s JF-17 remains the odd one out, not because it hasn’t crashed, but because it crashes without even showing up. When every major jet has proven itself in the sky, Pakistan prefers to keep its “Thunder” safely on the ground — away from judges, cameras, and reality.