MCMINNVILLE, Ore. — Three people died Thursday afternoon after two helicopters collided in the air and fell into a farm field a few miles from McMinnville Municipal Airport, according to the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office.
The crash happened around 2 p.m. southeast of the city, close to where Southeast Stringtown Road meets Lafayette Highway. Both aircraft came down beside Highway 233. One was a Robinson R22 built in 1995; the other was an Airbus AS350B3 from 2018.
The sheriff’s office said the smaller Robinson carried a British student pilot and the student’s instructor, a 22-year-old from Texas. The Airbus had one person aboard, a 38-year-old man from nearby Newberg. The student’s name was being held until relatives could be notified.
One of the aircraft belonged to Jerry Trimble Helicopters, a flight training school that operates from the McMinnville airport. The school issued a statement offering sympathy to the families and everyone affected.
Early federal information had the passenger counts reversed. The Federal Aviation Administration first reported one person on the Robinson and two on the Airbus, a model the agency listed as an H125. The sheriff’s later account placed two people on the Robinson.
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation with the FAA. No cause had been released as of Friday morning.
The Oregon Department of Transportation closed the area around the crash site Thursday and asked drivers to use other routes while investigators documented the scene. McMinnville sits about 35 miles southwest of Portland in the Willamette Valley.
Section: More Greenwood SC crime news
Filed under: Greenwood SC Public Safety News
