TOP GUN TRAGEDY
Top Gun Maverick flight instructor dies in crash as vid captures moment out of control plane spins & plunges to ground
Footage shows the aerobatic plane desperately try and regain height
TOP Gun Maverick's flight instructor has died in a crash with a tragic video showing the moment his plane spins and plunges to the ground.
Charles "Chuck" Coleman, who instructed the A-list cast including Tom Cruise, died in a horror smash during a show in New Mexico.
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He was flying a two-seat Extra Flugzeugbau EA300 monoplane at around 2.30pm Sunday during the Las Cruces Air and Space Expo at Las Cruces International Airport, officials said.
New footage shows the experienced stunt pilot just moments before disaster as he flies the small plane through the air with a white contrail flowing behind.
Coleman was performing difficult manoeuvres during the flight, including a mix of rolls, pitches, and yaws.
But he appears to lose too much speed and begins to drop to the ground during one tight series of turns.
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As the flight gets closer to the ground, the craft appears to try and straighten up and fly out of the descent.
But it doesn't have enough time, crashing into the ground.
The person filming Coleman has their view of the collision blocked by another plane in the foreground.
They move the camera away from the parked plane to follow where the flight path of Coleman would be - but he doesn't appear.
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An ambulance can then be seen driving down the side of the runway towards the crash site.
Actor Miles Teller paid tribute to Coleman, saying in a post on X he was "instrumental in our preparation for Top Gun: Maverick.
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Teller said: "He was an aerospace engineer, air show and test pilot, and our friend and ally.
"Chuck had a very easy going way about him and we always felt comfortable with his expertise at our disposal.
"He was kind, humble and curious about others and the world we live in. Gone too soon but his contributions will live on forever. Thanks for the memories, Chuck."
Coleman flew more than 100 flights to prepare the cast of the blockbuster Top Gun sequel for filming.
The cast actually flew in US Navy F-18 Hornets when they filmed the shots inside the jets and learned how to fly so they could realistically simulate being a pilot.
Las Cruces Mayor Eric Enriquez said on Monday: "We would like to extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones and fans of Chuck Coleman."
Coleman's website said he was based out of California and was an engineer and aerobatic and test pilot with more than 10,000 hours of flight time.
He performed at hundreds of shows and provided more than 3,000 rides in aircraft.
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New Mexico State Police, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
The airport was temporarily closed during the initial investigation, with only scheduled and emergency response flights permitted.
Top Gun: Maverick review – Tom Cruise’s sensational return to the skies will take your breath away & even tops original
By Dulcie Pearce - Five Stars
I FEEL the need… the need to tell you how astonishingly good the new Top Gun is.
With all the adrenaline, spectacular stunts, humour and heart of the first blockbuster, it also has an all-action storyline of bombs and baddies to beat Bond.
From the very first beat of the synthesiser in the famous Top Gun anthem, it’s a non-stop blast of action at high altitude.
It’s been 36 years since we last saw Tom Cruise slipping out of his shirt and into his aviators as test pilot Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell in the original.
We’re introduced to the - only slightly - more mature Mav in his air hanger while he tinkers with a plane.
As rebellious and headstrong as always, we soon discover Maverick has purposely dodged any advancement in the rank even though he’s one of the most successful pilots.
His skills are then called upon by Vice Admiral Cyclone (Jon Hamm) to train a group of the new “best of the best '' graduates in the Top Gun program, which includes Rooster (Miles Teller), the son of his late Wingman Goose.
It’s clear that Maverick’s ways are considered old school by Cyclone who barks “The future is coming Maverick, and you’re not in it,” as he reveals how one day fighter jets won’t even need pilots anymore.
But that doesn’t sway Mav, who gets the class's attention on day one by going full Dead Poet’s Society and throwing the pilot manual into the bin. He wants to teach them things that can’t be learned from pesky books.
The new Top Guns are a perfect modern mix of cocky pilots and you immediately warm to them in a bar scene where Rooster takes to the piano to bash out Great Balls of Fire, causing Maverick to flashback to Goose doing the same in the original film.
There are further clever uses of flashbacks and old pictures from the first, perfectly pulling you back to the young crew you originally fell in love with.
And, fear not ladies and gentleman, part of Maverick’s training programme includes taking tops off, oiling up and doing chest pumps on the beach in a very hands-on and homoerotic game of American football.
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