Miles Teller pays tribute to ‘Top Gun Maverick’ flying instructor, who has died in a plane crash

23 October, 2024

Top Gun

Top Gun: Maverick flying instructor Charles Thomas “Chuck” Coleman has died in a plane crash in New Mexico.

He was the only person on board the two-seat Extra Flugzeugbau EA300 monoplane when it went down around 2:30pm local time on Sunday, according to Sky News.

Coleman was performing aerobatics when the plane crashed during the Las Cruces Air and Space Expo at Las Cruces International Airport, city officials said. He had previously performed at hundreds of air shows and had provided more than 3,000 rides in aerobatic aircraft.

As the instructor for the stars in Top Gun: Maverick, he flew more than 100 flights to prepare the cast in US Navy F-18 Hornets.

Miles Teller, who worked with Coleman on the movie as the character Lieutenant Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, was one of the first to pay tribute on social media.

“RIP Chuck Coleman,” he 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.”

Danny Ramirez who played Lieutenant Mickey “Fanboy” Garcia in the movie also offered his condolences.

New Mexico State Police, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

Earlier this year, it was confirmed that Tom Cruise is set to star in a third Top Gun movie with producer Jerry Bruckheimer later confirming that a story has been written for the sequel.

“I think we have a terrific story. It’s just (a question of) how do we get everybody together and how do we get it done,” he said at the time. “Tom’s very busy. He’s got a lot of movies lined up, and he’s a very in-demand actor. So we’ll have to get a good screenplay, and hopefully, he’ll like it as much as we will.”

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