Witness Describes Oregon Helicopter Mid-Air Collision

A witness recounted the harrowing moments a mid-air collision between two helicopters sent one aircraft plummeting to the ground, resulting in the deaths of all three people aboard. The incident occurred near McMinnville Municipal Airport in Oregon on Thursday afternoon.

Leo Rodriguez, who was working on his barn roof at the time, described hearing the helicopters before the collision. "I heard the helicopter noise, I bent over to do something and then boom I looked up and everything was going down," Rodriguez told KPTV News. He observed that one helicopter was struck, causing its tail end to break, and it propelled downwards. The other helicopter "dropped straight down."

The crash claimed the lives of flight instructor Maddie Aasbo, 22, of Texas, and an unidentified 31-year-old student pilot from the UK. They were aboard a Robinson R22 helicopter. The second helicopter, an Airbus H125, was piloted by 38-year-old Tyler Sturdevant of Oregon.

The crash scattered debris across a farm field in Yamhill County. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are expected to investigate the incident.