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Three killed in midair helicopter collision in Oregon, sheriff says

Two helicopters collided in midair and crashed into a farm field southwest of Portland, Oregon, killing three people, Yamhill County Sheriff Sam Elliott said Thursday night.

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Aerial view of vineyard rows, wooded hills and a winding farm road near Yamhill, Oregon.
Archive photograph of vineyards near Yamhill, Oregon, taken July 30, 2018. The image provides geographic context and does not show the helicopter collision or its crash site.

Three people died when two helicopters collided in midair and crashed into a farm field southwest of Portland, Oregon, Yamhill County Sheriff Sam Elliott said at a news conference Thursday night.

Elliott said all three people aboard the helicopters were killed. He identified them as Maddie Aasbo, a 22-year-old flight instructor from Texas; Tyler Sturdevant, a 38-year-old pilot from Oregon; and a student pilot from the United Kingdom whose name has not been released.

According to preliminary information from the sheriff's office, Aasbo and the student pilot were aboard a 1995 Robinson R22 helicopter. Sturdevant was the only person aboard a 2018 Airbus AS350 B3.

Elliott said the scene had been turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board. Recovery efforts were continuing Thursday evening.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.