Two helicopters collided in midair in the U.S.; there are fatalities

In the state of Oregon, U.S., two helicopters collided in midair, killing three people. Following the crash, a section of the highway was closed, and investigators began examining the wreckage scattered across a farm field.

According to Yamhill County Sheriff Sam Elliott, the victims of the collision were 22-year-old flight instructor Maddie Aasbo from Texas, 38-year-old pilot Tyler Sterdevant from Oregon, and a student pilot from the United Kingdom.

During a press conference, the sheriff clarified that Aasbo was in one helicopter with the student pilot, while Sterdevant was the only person on board the other aircraft.

The helicopters crashed into a private farm field near the McMinnville Municipal Airport, located southwest of Portland.

Wreckage from both aircraft was found at the crash site: the red helicopter was shattered into pieces, and the green one was lying upside down.

A section of Highway 233 was closed due to the crash, the Oregon Department of Transportation reported Thursday afternoon. The department did not specify when the road is expected to reopen to traffic.

Leo Rodriguez witnessed the crash from his family’s vineyard. After the collision, he called 911.

“Suddenly, I hear this loud rumble and this screech of metal; I look up and just see these two helicopters that had just collided in midair,” Rodriguez told KPTV.

He also described the moment the helicopters crashed:

“It took me a while for my brain to process what I was seeing. You don’t see something like that every day. They spun out of control and crashed to the ground,” the eyewitness said.

The Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office urged the public to stay away from the crash site and “be patient while we respond to this critical incident.”

The accident occurred around 2:15 p.m. local time. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are investigating.

According to Sheriff Sam Elliott, federal investigators arrived at the scene on the evening of Thursday, October 29, and began examining the wreckage.

The NTSB reported that two different helicopters were involved in the collision: a Robinson R-22, which was on a training flight, and an Airbus AS350, which was on a technical flight.

One of the helicopters was operated by Jerry Trimble Helicopters, a company that trains helicopter pilots and provides aircraft for private flights. In a statement, the company noted that it is cooperating with the relevant authorities during the investigation.

The cause of the collision is currently under investigation.

CNN reports this.

The day before, at least 68 people were killed in Spain when two high-speed trains collided. The accident occurred on the morning of October 28 near the Urda station in the province of Toledo. Another 58 people were hospitalized, 15 of whom are in critical condition.