A British flying student was among three people killed in a mid-air helicopter crash.
Christopher James Joughin was taking a lesson with flying instructor Maddie Aasbo when they collided with another helicopter near McMinnville Municipal Airport in Oregon on Thursday.
Joughin, 31, was being taught in a Robinson R22 which collided with an Airbus H125 piloted by Tyler Delane Sturdevant, who was in the midst of a post maintenance check flight, at 2.10pm.
Flights to and from McMinnville airport are reliant ‘self-reporting’ by pilots as the facility does not have an air traffic control tower.
An investigation opened by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is expected to focus on the exchange of messages between helicopters, although the cause of the crash is as of yet unknown, the New York Post reported.
Confirming Joughin as the third victim of the crash, Yanhill County Sheriff Sam Elliott said the force was in contact with the Briton’s next of kin, who are living in Zimbabwe.
Grant Mills, an air safety investigator from the NTSB, said both helicopters were flying at around 500ft above ground according to witnesses.
He said teams were working to extract flight data from the Airbus helicopter, but were still looking into any possible recording devices on the Robinson aircraft.
A preliminary report into the crash is expected to be released within 30 days, he added.
Instructor Maddie, 22, was described as a ‘free-spirited, intelligent, outgoing, confident, mature young lady’.
She balanced her interests in hunting and flying helicopters and was leader of a local rodeo team.
Her rodeo coach Joey Almand said: ‘Maddie was like the mother hen of the dorms. She was the sweetest, and all the other kids loved and respected her so much.’
The Airbus pilot, Sturdevant, 38, was described as an ‘incredible man’.
He is survived by his wife and two children.
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