‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Flight Instructor’s Final Moments Caught on Video Before New Mexico Air Show Crash

A “Top Gun: Maverick” flight instructor’s final moments before falling to his death in a New Mexico air show crash were captured on video.

Footage taken by spectator Terre Blevins shows the aircraft piloted by Charles “Chuck” Coleman spiraling downward Sunday before crashing into the ground at Las Cruces International Airport. Coleman was participating in an aerobatic performance at the Las Cruces Air and Space Expo.

“It was a big cloud of dirt,” Blevins told The Las Cruces Bulletin while reporting the accident, “and then I looked at the security guard next to me. And she just ran away.”

An announcer in the video could be heard telling viewers immediately after the accident to “please stay off” social media and that emergency crews were responding to the scene.

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The plane piloted by Charles Coleman was seen falling out of the sky on Sunday, October 20, during an air show in Las Cruces, New Mexico. (Terre Blevins/TMX)

Coleman’s website says he was a “flight instructor with over 10,000 total flight hours” and “flew 140 flights in order to prepare actors to fly Navy F-18 Hornets” in the film “Top Gun: Maverick ”.

“Chuck was our aerobatic flight instructor and instrumental in our preparation for Top Gun: Maverick. He was an aerospace engineer, an air show and test pilot, and our friend and ally,” Miles Teller, one of the film’s stars who played Lt. Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, wrote in X.

Charles “Chuck” Coleman is seen performing at the Las Cruces Air and Space Expo moments before the accident. (Terre Blevins/TMX)

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“Chuck had a very calm manner and we always felt comfortable with his experience at our disposal. He was kind, humble and curious about others and the world we live in,” Teller added. “Gone too soon, but his contributions will live on forever. Thanks for the memories, Chuck.”

The National Transportation Safety Board told KFOX 14 it is investigating the crash of the Extra Flugzeugbau GMBH EA 300/L plane, which happened around 2:30 p.m. local time on Sunday.

Video recorded by a bystander shows the plane crashing at Las Cruces International Airport. The aircraft is shown here disappearing behind another that was parked on the runway moments before impact. (Terre Blevins/TMX)

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“Unfortunately, we had a tragic ending to our Air and Space Expo this weekend,” Las Cruces Mayor Eric Enriquez said Monday. “We would like to extend our deepest condolences to Chuck Coleman’s loved ones and fans.”