Authorities are investigating a midair collision of two helicopters near McMinnville Municipal Airport (KMMV) in Oregon that killed three people.
According to the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Department, at approximately 2:10 p.m. PDT on Thursday, witnesses notified law enforcement that two helicopters had crashed near the intersection of SE Amity-Dayton Highway, also known as Highway 233, and SE Cruickshank Road, southeast of McMinnville, approximately 33 miles southwest of Portland.
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Law enforcement and rescue personnel arrived on scene to find the wreckage of a 1995 Robinson R22 and a 2018 Airbus AS350 B3 in a field adjacent to the highway. There were two occupants in the Robinson helicopter and one occupant in the Airbus—all three were pronounced dead.
The R22 occupants were identified as flight instructor Maddie Aasbo, 22, of Texas, and a student pilot from the United Kingdom. The student’s name was withheld as of Friday morning pending next-of-kin notification. The Airbus occupant was identified as Tyler Delane Sturdevant, 38, of Newberg, Oregon.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board responded to the scene. The NTSB will be leading the investigation.