Third victim in deadly Oregon helicopter crash ID’d as British aviation student

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The third victim of the deadly Oregon mid-air helicopter crash has been revealed as a British aviation student.

Christopher James Joughin, 31, was in the cockpit with flight instructor Maddie Aasbo when their chopper collided with another helicopter Thursday near the McMinnville Municipal Airport  – and then plunged 500 feet to the ground, National Transportation Safety Board officials said Friday.

Joughin’s identity was initially withheld as investigators contacted his family in Zimbabwe.

It’s still not clear what caused the crash, or where the pilots were heading.

McMinnville airport relies on “self-reporting” by the pilots rather than air traffic control units.

“They’ll report their position wherever they are, around the airport, when they’re departing, when they’re arriving, and everybody that’s on that frequency can hear each other,” explained Grant Mills, air safety investigator with the NTSB.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating those radio frequencies, Mills said.

Joughin and Aasbo were on a flight lesson aboard a Robinson R22 when they collided with an Airbus H125 at 2:10 p.m. Thursday.

Their helicopter belonged to Jerry Trimble Helicopters, which describes itself as “one of Oregon’s most established flight training centers,” the school confirmed Friday.

It operates out of McMinnville Municipal Airport, roughly a mile from the crash site.

Tyler Delane Sturdevant, 38, of Newberg, Oregon, was the sole occupant abourd the Airbus and was conducting a post-maintenance check flight on the helicopter.

Sturdevant was remembered as an “incredible man” with a passion for flying.

“My absolute heartbreak is for his family. I remember he was telling me about his family. And we were talking about his two kids and his wife, and he just loved them,” Allison Harding, who worked with the Sturdevant earlier this year, told Fox 12.

“Just his knowledge in aviation was really incredible. Just to be able to talk to him, he had incredible knowledge in aviation. I can’t imagine like how many lives he touched by just doing all these check rides and stuff,” she continued.

“He was just an incredible man. And I wish he could know how much he impacted my life and changed it and allowed me to pursue my dream.”

Witnesses say the aircraft were about 500 feet in the air when they collided and crashed onto a farm below, leaving no survivors.

“The scene itself is still an active scene as recovery efforts are going on for the aircraft themselves,” Yamhill County Sheriff Sam Elliott said.

It’s also unclear if weather and scattered rain may have played a factor in the devastating crash.

The NTSB is expected to release an updated report in about 30 days.