Maverick “Flight instructor killed in plane crash, Miles Teller remembers him as 'kind, humble and curious'”

Charles T. “Chuck” Coleman was “a well-known and respected engineer, aerobatic pilot and test pilot,” authorities said

A well-known aerobatic pilot who worked as a flight instructor Top Gun: Maverick died Sunday in a plane crash during an air show in New Mexico, authorities said.

Charles T. “Chuck” Coleman died in a “fatal accident” while performing during the Las Cruces Air and Space Expo, Las Cruces officials said in a statement on social media Monday, Oct. 21.

He was remembered as “a well-known and respected engineer, aerobatic pilot and test pilot with more than 10,000 hours of flying time” who had “performed in hundreds of air shows and performed more than 3,000 rides in aerobatic aircraft.”

As part of his work, he trained the actors to fly the Navy's F-18 Hornets for the 2022 hit Top Gun In the sequel, Coleman “flew more than 100 flights,” Las Cruces officials said.

They said the incident occurred around 2:30 p.m. local time at Las Cruces International Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the New Mexico State Police are investigating.

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In a brief statement, the NTSB confirmed it was investigating the incident.

The FAA said in its own statement that only Coleman was aboard the plane, a single-engine Extra Flugzeugbau 300/L, when it crashed outside Las Cruces Airport on Sunday.

Further details were initially not known.

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“We would like to extend our deepest condolences to the family and fans of Chuck Coleman,” Las Cruces Mayor Eric Enriquez said in a statement.

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In a tribute to X,Top Gun: MaverickMiles Teller remembered Coleman as “kind, humble and curious about others and the world in which we live.”

“Chuck had a very easygoing manner and we always felt comfortable because he had his expertise at our disposal. … Gone too soon, but his contributions will live on forever,” Teller, 37, wrote. “Thanks for the memories, Chuck.”

According to a biography on Coleman's website, he graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in aerospace mechanics and worked in Hollywood “on numerous other films and shows.”

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A University of Michigan alumni article states that Coleman, a Michigan native, spent approximately 100 days at the University of Michigan in eight months Top Gun Occupation “Performing flights with a tolerance of 140 G in an Extra EA-300.”

“The main thing is that people who start flying for the first time, especially aerobics, are nervous, and that's not the goal Top Gun Pilots,” Coleman said at the time. “I just try to talk to them and comfort them, because it's crazy stuff that we do in a lot of people's books.”

Of working with the actors, including Tom Cruise, he said: “You develop a kind of friendship with them, and we realized that aviation changes them.”

“On one of my flights with Tom, we just talked the whole time about training and everything,” Coleman said. “He said to me, 'Everyone's confidence is increasing,' so I'm just like, Wow, Tom Cruise is telling me that. It's just incredible.”

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