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Three Dead After Helicopters Collide Midair Near Oregon Airport
· Confirmed
In Short: Three people died when two helicopters collided midair near McMinnville Municipal Airport in Oregon on Thursday.
According to local authorities, three people died after two helicopters collided midair near an intersection southeast of McMinnville, Oregon, on Thursday, around 2:10 p.m. local time, near Highway 33 and Cruickshank Road, according to the Yamhill County Sheriff's Office and ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos.
The incident involved a 1995 Robinson R22 helicopter and a 2018 Airbus AS350B3 helicopter, both of which crashed in a field near the highway when first responders arrived, as reported by ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos and CBS News.
The sole occupant of the Airbus AS350B3 was identified as Tyler Delane Sturdevant, 38, of Newberg, Oregon, according to ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos and the BBC.
The victims included a 22-year-old flight instructor from Texas and a student pilot from the United Kingdom, who were aboard the Robinson R22, as reported by the BBC, CBS News, and Fox News.
Jerry Trimble Helicopters, a flight training school based at the McMinnville Municipal Airport, confirmed one of their aircraft was involved in the incident and stated they were cooperating with investigators, as reported by the BBC and ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos.
Witnesses reported the crash at about 2:10 p.m. near the intersection of Southeast Amity-Dayton Highway and Southeast Cruickshank Road, southeast of McMinnville, according to Bnonews.
Photos released by the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office showed the mangled wreckage of both helicopters in a field, as reported by Bnonews.
The two people aboard the Robinson R22 were identified as 22-year-old flight instructor Maddie Aasbo of Texas and a British student pilot whose name was not immediately released, according to CBS News.
The collision occurred in a field off Oregon Route 233, about one mile west of Dayton, according to Oregon Department of Transportation spokesperson Mindy McCartt, as reported by Fox News and Centraloregondaily.
The area is about 40 miles southwest of Portland, Oregon's major city, as reported by Ratopati.
Emergency crews responded on Thursday afternoon following reports of a crash near McMinnville Airport, southwest of Portland, according to the Yamhill County Sheriff's Office and Thenightly.
The Oregon Department of Transportation said Highway 233 is closed 1 mile west of Dayton because of the crash, as reported by WGAL.
What this adds
The news outlets agree on the time and location of the collision, the identities of the victims, and the involvement of Jerry Trimble Helicopters. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Background
Three people died when two helicopters collided midair near McMinnville Municipal Airport in Oregon.
What's confirmed
- Three people are dead after two helicopters collided in midair near an Oregon airport on Thursday, according to local authorities.
- The incident involved a 1995 Robinson R22 helicopter and a 2018 Airbus AS350B3 helicopter and occurred at approximately 2:10 p.m. local time Thursday near McMinnville, about 40 miles southwest of Portland, according to the Yamhill County Sheriff's Office.
- The sole occupant of the Airbus AS350B3 was identified as Tyler Delane Sturdevant, 38, of Newberg, Oregon.
- Authorities identified the victims as a 22-year-old flight instructor from Texas and a student pilot from the United Kingdom, who were aboard one of the helicopters.
- "Jerry Trimble Helicopters is deeply saddened to confirm that one of our aircraft was involved in an aviation incident this afternoon," the company said, adding that they were fully cooperating with investigators.
- One of the aircraft was operated by Jerry Trimble Helicopters, a flight training school based at the McMinnville Municipal Airport, according to a statement from the company.
- The collision involving a Robinson R22 and an Airbus helicopter occurred near McMinnville Municipal Airport on Thursday afternoon.
- The student’s name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
- A road closure sign blocks traffic near McMinnville Municipal Airport in Oregon on Thursday, following a midair collision between two helicopters. (Fox News) The collision occurred in a field off Oregon Route 233, about one mile west of Dayton, according to Oregon Department of Transportation spokesperson Mindy McCartt.
- The crash killed 22-year-old Maddie Aasbo, a Texas flight instructor, 38-year-old Tyler Sturdevant, a pilot from Oregon, and a student pilot from the United Kingdom, whose name has not been released, Yamhill County Sheriff Sam Elliott said during a news conference.
- Three people were killed when two helicopters collided midair and crashed into a farm field southwest of Portland, Oregon, Yamhill County Sheriff Sam Elliott said in a news conference Thursday night.
- The two helicopters crashed on a “privately owned farm,” according to Yamhill County Sheriff Sam Elliott A collision between two helicopters in Northwest Oregon killed all three people on board.
What's still developing
- The accident occurred at around 2:15 p.m. on private farmland, and investigators are working to determine how the collision happened.