An accomplished test pilot who was a flight instructor for the cast of the 2022 movie “Top Gun: Maverick” died in a crash of a small plane during an air show in New Mexico on Sunday, authorities said.

The pilot, Charles Thomas “Chuck” Coleman, 61, was the only person onboard the single-engine Extra Flugzeugbau 300/L plane when it crashed during a performance at the Las Cruces Air and Space Expo around 2:30 p.m. local time Sunday, according to Las Cruces city officials and the Federal Aviation Administration.

The show, a display of aerobatic performances, helicopters, airplanes and spacecraft, was held at Las Cruces International Airport and ended after the crash. The airport was also temporarily closed Sunday, according to the city.

“Unfortunately, we had a tragic ending to our Air and Space Expo this weekend,” Mayor Eric Enriquez of Las Cruces said in a statement posted to social media Monday. Las Cruces is a city of about 111,000 residents in southern New Mexico.

— The New York Times