Two Helicopters Collide Midair Near McMinnville, Oregon, Killing Three
A flight instructor, a British student pilot and the sole pilot of a second aircraft died when both helicopters fell into a farm field southwest of Portland. The NTSB is leading the investigation.
Three people are dead after two helicopters collided in midair near McMinnville, Oregon, about 40 miles southwest of Portland, the Yamhill County Sheriff's Office said. "Three people are dead after two helicopters collided in midair," the office reported after the crash on Thursday afternoon.
The collision happened at about 2:10 p.m. local time on Oct. 29 near the intersection of Highway 33 and Cruickshank Road, southeast of McMinnville. Both aircraft came down in a farm field near the highway. The crash prompted a road closure and a large response from emergency crews.
The sheriff's office said the aircraft were a 1995 Robinson R22 and a 2018 Airbus AS350B3. The Robinson, a small two-seat training helicopter, was carrying flight instructor Maddie Aasbo, 22, of Texas, and a student pilot from the United Kingdom. Authorities have not released the student's name while they work with the consulate and the FBI to notify family. The Airbus was flown by its sole occupant, Tyler Delane Sturdevant, 38, of Newberg, Oregon.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board responded to the scene, and the NTSB will lead the investigation. Investigators typically examine the wreckage, air traffic and radio records, pilot histories and weather conditions before issuing a preliminary report, which often follows within weeks. A final determination of probable cause can take a year or more.
The sheriff's account of who was aboard does not match an earlier statement from the FAA, which said the Robinson had one occupant and the Airbus had two. The sheriff said his information was preliminary and based on what responding personnel found at the site. The NTSB's findings are expected to settle the discrepancy.
The crash adds to a run of aviation accidents that have drawn scrutiny to crowded airspace and mixed traffic around small airports. McMinnville has a municipal airport that supports general aviation, including flight training, which puts training aircraft such as the Robinson R22 into the same airspace as private and commercial helicopters.
The Robinson R22 is a light two-seat helicopter widely used for flight training, while the Airbus AS350B3 is a single-engine turbine helicopter commonly flown for tours, utility work and medical transport. Because the two types fly at different speeds and often follow different patterns near an airport, investigators will look closely at where each aircraft was and what each pilot could see in the seconds before impact.
Midair collisions between aircraft are rare, but they are often fatal when they occur. The NTSB has not said what caused this one or whether either pilot was in contact with air traffic services. Officials have asked witnesses and anyone with video of the collision to contact investigators.
