Miles Teller is paying tribute to a late friend. Top Gun: Maverick flight instructor Charles Thomas “Chuck” died in a small plane crash during an air show in New Mexico on Oct. 20, according to Sky News. City officials said he was performing aerobatics when the plane crashed during the Las Cruces Air and Space Expo at Las Cruces International Airport. He was the only person on the two-seat Extra Flugzeugbau EA300 when it crashed.
Teller, who starred in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick as Lieutenant Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, took to X to remember his “friend and ally.”
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“RIP Chuck Coleman,” Teller wrote. “Chuck was our aerobatics flight instructor and instrumental in our preparation for Top Gun: Maverick. 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.”
Per his website, Coleman was based out of California, with the engineer, aerobatic, and test pilot putting in over 10,000 hours of flight time. Additionally, he had performed at hundreds of air shows and had done thousands of rides in aerobatic aircraft. Coleman was the instructor for Top Gun, flying more than 100 flights to prepare the cast to fly in US Navy F-18 Hornets.
Top Gun: Maverick was a major box office success when it released in theaters in May 2022. The film, a sequel to the 1986 Top Gun that revolves around Tom Cruise’s Maverick confronting his past while training a group of younger Top Gun graduates, brought in close to $1.5 billion and was the second-highest-grossing film of 2022 and the highest-grossing of Cruise’s career. A third Top Gun film is in the works, but it’s unknown if Coleman was attached to return as a flight instructor.
The crash is being investigated by New Mexico State Police, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the National Transportation Safety Board. Following the crash, the air show was canceled. “We would like to extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones and fans of Chuck Coleman,” Las Cruces Mayor Eric Enriquez said.
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