Charles T. “Chuck” Coleman, who worked as a flight instructor on Top Gun: Maverick, has died in a plane crash.
The aerobatic pilot was taking part in the air show, Las Cruces Air and Space Expo, on Sunday in New Mexico. He was flying a single-engine Extra Flugzeugbau 300/L when the tragedy occurred at around 2:30pm, authorities said.
A tribute was shared about Coleman by the City of Las Cruces on social media.
They remembered Coleman as ‘a well-known and respected engineer, aerobatic and test pilot with more than 10,000 hours of flight time’.
‘Coleman was also an aerobatic flight instructor for actors in the 2022 motion picture, “Top Gun: Maverick,” where he flew more than 100 flights in preparing actors to fly in Navy F-18 Hornets,’ it added. The cast included Tom Cruise, Glen Powell, and Miles Teller.
Las Cruces Mayor Eric Enriquez said: ‘Unfortunately, we had a tragic ending to our Air and Space Expo this weekend.
‘There was an aircraft accident during Sunday’s performance that resulted in the death of pilot, Charles T. “Chuck” Coleman. We would like to extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones and fans of Chuck Coleman.’
Paying tribute to Coleman, Teller wrote: ‘Chuck had a very easygoing way about him and we always felt comfortable with his expertise at our disposal. … Gone too soon but his contributions will live on forever. Thanks for the memories, Chuck.’
The Las Cruces International Airport is temporarily closed and being investigated by New Mexico State Police, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. Spectators who have photos or videos of the accident have been encouraged to share them with the National Transportation Safety Board.
In an interview with the University of Michigan, where Coleman studied, he spoke about what it was like to work with Tom Cruise, who plays Captain Pete Mitchell.
‘You develop kind of a friendship with them, and we noticed that aviation was changing them,’ he shared.
‘On one of my flights with Tom, we just talked the whole time about the training and everything. He said to me, “The confidence is improving in all of them.” So I’m just, like, wow, Tom Cruise is telling me this. It’s just amazing.’
Coleman also served as the senior design engineer for F/A-18 Hornet utilized by NASA and the United States Navy. He worked at the ‘Tom Cruise’s School of Flying’ in October 2018, after trained pilot Cruise, 62, insisted on the sequel to Top Gun used real footage of actors in F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets.
During the training, Coleman took around 20 flights with each actor. ‘The main thing is when people first start flying, especially aerobics, they’re nervous, and that’s not the look for Top Gun pilots. I just try to talk to them and be comforting because it’s crazy stuff that we’re doing in many people’s books.’