Authorities identify three people killed in Oregon helicopter collision

The victims of a midair collision between two helicopters in the U.S. state of Oregon were identified as 22-year-old flight instructor Maddie Aasbo, student pilot Christopher James Joughin and pilot Tyler Sturdevant. The NTSB expects to release a preliminary report on the crash in about 30 days.

The three people killed when two helicopters collided in midair in the U.S. state of Oregon on Thursday, Oct. 29, were identified. The crash occurred at around 2:10 p.m. local time, approximately 1.5 kilometers east of McMinnville Municipal Airport, southwest of Portland.

Yamhill County Sheriff Sam Elliott said the Robinson R22 training helicopter was carrying 22-year-old flight instructor Maddie Aasbo, who was from Texas, and 31-year-old student pilot Christopher James Joughin, who was from the United Kingdom. The other helicopter, an Airbus AS350, was being flown alone by 38-year-old pilot Tyler Sturdevant, who lived in Newberg. Officials released Joughin's identity after notifying his family in Zimbabwe.

An Airbus AS350 B3 helicopter (illustrative, archive, Frans Berkelaar / Wikimedia Commons)

One was training, the other was on a test flight

Grant Mills, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), said the R22 was conducting a training flight while the Airbus was on a post-maintenance inspection flight. The R22 belonged to Jerry Trimble Helicopters, a flight school operating at the airport. Witnesses said the helicopters collided at an altitude of about 150 meters and crashed onto private farmland approximately 90 meters apart.

At McMinnville Airport, which has no control tower, pilots report their positions and movements to one another over a common radio frequency.

Farmland in Yamhill County, viewed from the air (archive, Sam Beebe / Wikimedia Commons)

Preliminary report expected within 30 days

The NTSB is leading the investigation into the cause of the crash, with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also participating. Investigators will examine flight data, maintenance records and weather conditions. Equipment recovered from the Airbus helicopter will be sent to a laboratory to retrieve data. The preliminary report is expected to be published in about 30 days, while the final report establishing the definitive cause is expected to take 12 to 24 months.

Precision Helicopters, where Sturdevant worked as a pilot, said the legacy its senior pilot left in the aviation community would not be forgotten.

Images: ZLEA (cover, CC BY-SA 4.0), Frans Berkelaar and Sam Beebe (CC BY 2.0) / Wikimedia Commons

Authorities identify three people killed in Oregon helicopter collision