"Top Gun" instructor dead! Tom Cruise's flight instructor has an accident during a demonstration
Las Cruces (New Mexico, USA) - Tragedy for aerobatics instructor Charles Thomas "Chuck" Coleman! The man who trained actors such as Tom Cruise (62) and Miles Teller (37) for the film "Top Gun: Maverick" (2022) has diedin a plane crash during a show in the US state of New Mexico.

"Unfortunately, our Air and Space Expo came to a tragic end this weekend," said Las Cruces Mayor Eric Enriquez in a statement released by the city.
The accident on Sunday afternoon, October 20 (local time) at Las Cruces International Airport is being investigated by police and aviation safety authorities. The airport has been temporarily closed due to the investigation. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, only the pilot was on board the single-engine "Extra 300 L" aircraft.
Coleman was an engineer, airshow pilot, test pilot and flight instructor with a total of more than 10,000 flight hours, according to his website. He has participated in hundreds of air shows, it said. For "Top Gun: Maverick", he said he completed 140 flights to prepare actors to fly Navy F-18 Hornets (fighter jets).


"We would like to express our deepest condolences to the family and fans of Chuck Coleman," said Mayor Enriquez. Actor Miles Teller also published online condolences: "He was kind, humble and curious about others and the world we live in," Teller said about the deceased pilot on X.