Oliver Tree Cause of Death Update: Two Helicopters Collide Over Rio Days Before His European Tour

Oliver Tree Nickell, the California-born singer and record producer known for his bowl-cut hair and genre-blending sound, died on Sunday, 14 June 2026, after two helicopters collided mid-air above the Recreio dos Bandeirantes neighbourhood in the western zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was 32.

The Rio de Janeiro Civil Police identified Tree among the six victims of the collision, which saw two aircraft collide over the city on Sunday morning before crashing in the western zone and killing everyone on board. There were no survivors.

A Fatal Mid-air Collision Over Rio

One of the aircraft came down on a car dealership where several electric vehicles were parked, sparking a fire at the site. According to El País, the crash happened around 9 am local time and roughly 20 electric vehicles caught fire after one of the helicopters hit the ground.

According to information released by the Military Fire Brigade of the State of Rio de Janeiro, one of the aerial vehicles had been bound for the city of Angra dos Reis, on the Costa Verde coast, while the other was carrying out a refuelling operation. On the first aircraft were pilot Alexandre Souza and four passengers: Lucas Brito Chaves, Oliver Tree Nickell, Lucas Vignale, and Gaspar Prim. The sole occupant of the second helicopter was pilot Charles Marsillac.

Investigations Underway

Brazilian aviation authorities are now investigating the cause of the collision. CNN Brasil reported that Brazil's Air Force, through CENIPA, was called to the scene to begin collecting data, preserving evidence, and assessing the damage caused by the aircraft. Agents from the Third Regional Service for the Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents are also gathering information and preserving key components of engines and fuselages, in a process authorities say is essential to the final report on contributing factors.

Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency issued a public statement expressing deep regret over the loss of the six lives and said it is examining the documentation and legal status of both the helicopters and the pilots involved.

Cut Short on a World Tour

Tree was in Rio de Janeiro as part of an active world tour. He had performed in São Paulo on 6 June and was set to kick off the European leg with a show in Lisbon, Portugal, on 1 July, with dates scheduled in cities including Madrid, Barcelona, Rome, Milan, Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

The tour, titled 'The World's First World Tour', had been launched in support of his fourth studio album 'Love You Madly, Hate You Badly', released on 24 April 2026, a record he said he developed over two years while travelling widely.

His final Instagram post — a story from a recording studio shared the night before the crash on Saturday, 13 June — showed him in the company of other musicians. He had nearly 20 million followers across social media platforms at the time of his death.

Who Was Oliver Tree

Born on 29 June 1993 in Santa Cruz, California, Tree was a singer-songwriter, record producer, rapper, and filmmaker who signed to Atlantic Records in 2017 after his song 'When I'm Down' went viral. He went on to release his full-length debut, the Billboard-charting 'Ugly Is Beautiful', in 2020, followed by 'Cowboy Tears in 2022', which reached number seven on Billboard's Alternative Albums chart, and 'Alone in a Crowd' in 2023.

He was widely recognised for his eccentric visual identity — oversized clothing, a signature bowl cut, and a comedy-driven online persona — as much as for his music.

The death of Oliver Tree marks one of the most significant losses in alternative music in recent years. He was midway through an ambitious global tour spanning more than 30 countries and all seven continents, with dozens of dates still ahead. Investigations into the cause of the mid-air collision remain ongoing, and Brazilian authorities have yet to release an official determination.