Three Dead After Two Helicopters Collide in Oregon
Two helicopters collided in midair and crashed into a field near Portland. Three people died, and a major highway remains closed.
Key points
- Three people died after two helicopters collided in Oregon.
- The victims include a 22-year-old flight instructor and a 38-year-old pilot.
- Highway 233 remains closed while the crash is investigated.
- The FAA and the NTSB will determine the cause.
Three people died Thursday when two helicopters collided in midair and crashed into an agricultural field near McMinnville Airport, southwest of Portland, Oregon.
The victims are Maddie Aasbo, 22, a flight instructor from Texas; Tyler Sturdevant, 38, a pilot from Oregon; and an aviation student from the United Kingdom whose name has not been released, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Yamhill County Sheriff Sam Elliott said emergency crews received the alert around 2:15 p.m. Recovery work continued Thursday night.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the aircraft were a Robinson R22, carrying two people, and an Airbus H125, flown only by its pilot. One of the helicopters belonged to the flight school Jerry Trimble Helicopters, based at McMinnville Airport. The school expressed condolences to the victims' families and said it is cooperating with authorities to determine the cause of the collision.
The crash forced the closure of Highway 233, about 1.6 kilometers west of Dayton, and other local roads. The Oregon Department of Transportation did not give a date for reopening. The sheriff's office asked residents to stay away from the area.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will lead the investigation into what caused the collision.