Three Killed After Helicopter Collision Near Mcminnville Airport Closes Oregon Highway and Triggers Federal Investigation South of Portland
MCMINNVILLE, OR — Two helicopters collided and crashed into a farm field Thursday near a small airport southwest of Portland, killing all three people aboard and forcing a shutdown of part of an Oregon highway. Authorities said the aircraft went down a few miles east of McMinnville Airport, with emergency crews arriving about 2:15 p.m. after crash reports came in.
By Thursday evening, recovery work was still underway. Photos released by the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office showed one helicopter upside down in the field and another broken apart nearby. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have opened an investigation into the collision and crash.
Sheriff identifies the three people who died in the crash
Yamhill County Sheriff Sam Elliott said the victims were 38-year-old Tyler Sturdevant of Oregon, 22-year-old Maddie Aasbo of Texas, and a student pilot from the United Kingdom whose name has not been released. According to the sheriff’s office, Aasbo and the student pilot were on one helicopter, while Sturdevant was flying the other aircraft.
Officials have not said what caused the collision. The sheriff’s office said crews were still working at the scene Thursday evening, and the crash remains under active investigation. The small-aircraft setting and the limited details released so far have left key questions unanswered, including what brought the helicopters into contact above the farm field.
One helicopter came from Jerry Trimble Helicopters at the airport
Officials said one of the aircraft involved was from Jerry Trimble Helicopters, an aviation school based at McMinnville Airport. The school said in a statement posted on social media that it was cooperating with authorities to secure the site and help determine what happened.
Jerry Trimble Helicopters offers a range of flight training, from demo flights for first-time flyers to advanced instruction. The school also posted that its thoughts were with the people involved, their families, and others affected by the crash. Last year, it had shared a photo of Aasbo and described her as a new private pilot moving into instrument training.
FAA says the crash involved a Robinson R22 and an Airbus H125
The Federal Aviation Administration identified the aircraft as a Robinson R22, a two-seat helicopter, and an Airbus H125, which can carry up to six passengers depending on its configuration. Those aircraft are used in a wide range of flying operations, including training and other aviation work, though officials have not said what each helicopter was doing before the collision.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are leading the investigation. Their work typically includes reviewing wreckage, flight history, weather, communications, and maintenance records. For now, officials have not given a timeline for when they may reach conclusions about why the two helicopters collided.
Highway 233 closed as crews kept people away from the scene
The Oregon Department of Transportation said Highway 233 was closed one mile west of Dayton because of the crash. There was no estimate for reopening Thursday, and local roads were also shut down as authorities tried to keep the public clear of the area.
The sheriff’s office urged people to stay away while investigators and recovery teams worked. The crash site sits near McMinnville, a city of about 34,000 people roughly 35 miles southwest of Portland. The airport itself has two paved runways, covers 650 acres, and remained open Thursday according to its website.
McMinnville Airport sits near homes and a museum on the city’s edge
McMinnville Airport is a small regional field that sits partly beside neighborhoods and near the North American Aerospace Museum, making it an active but compact aviation hub in the area. The airport’s location near homes helps explain why the crash drew attention quickly and why road access had to be controlled as crews responded.
Even with the accident scene active, the airport remained open, according to its website. That detail suggests the collision affected the surrounding roadway and field rather than shutting down the entire aviation facility. Still, the impact was immediate for nearby drivers, emergency workers, and the aviation community tied to the airport.