Three people were killed when two helicopters collided in midair near McMinnville Municipal Airport in the northwestern US state of Oregon on Thursday, officials said, according to CNN.

Yamhill County Sheriff Sam Elliott told a news conference that the dead were flight instructor Maddie Aasbo, 22, of Texas, Oregon pilot Tyler Sturdevant, 38, and a student pilot from the United Kingdom. Aasbo and the student pilot were in one helicopter, while Sturdevant was the only person in the other, the sheriff said.

The aircraft came down in a private farm field near the airport at about 2:15 pm local time, officials said. One red helicopter was left crumpled in pieces, while a green helicopter lay upside down. McMinnville is about 40 miles (65 km) southwest of Portland.

The Oregon Department of Transportation said a one-mile stretch of nearby Highway 233 was closed because of the crash and gave no estimate for reopening.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading the investigation, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is also looking into the incident. The sheriff said federal investigators were at the scene on Thursday night.

The NTSB said the aircraft involved were a Robinson R-22, which was on an instructional flight, and an Airbus AS350, which was on a maintenance flight.

Jerry Trimble Helicopters, a flight training school and rental service for private flights, said one of its aircraft was involved. “Our hearts and thoughts are with the individuals involved, their families, and everyone affected by this event,” the company said in a statement. It added that it was cooperating with authorities.

Leo Rodriguez, who called the emergency number after seeing the crash from his family vineyard, told KPTV, a CNN affiliate: “All of a sudden I hear this big boom and this metal breaking, and I look up and just see these two helicopters just collided in mid-air.”

The sheriff’s office asked the public to avoid the area and to have “patience as we respond to this critical incident.”

Source: CNN