Top Gun’s Maverick and Goose are among cinema’s most iconic duos, with the two pilots becoming de facto blood brothers facing life-or-death situations. That takes a tragic turn when Goose dies on a mission, a pop-culture moment still remembered decades later, helping make Top Gun one of Tom Cruise’s best action films. However, it hurts far worse with the appearance of his son in Top Gun: Maverick, and indeed, the events of Maverick reveal that Goose’s death still haunts those close to him.
But how did Goose die in the original Top Gun, and who was at fault? The sequel touches on those specifics briefly but doesn’t go into details, assuming (probably safely) that most of the audience had seen the first film before watching the second. Considering how important Goose’s death is to Top Gun: Maverick’s two main characters, it’s well worth revisiting the specifics for when Top Gun 3 finally hits the big screen.
Updated on April 10, 2025, by Arthur Goyaz: Goose’s death is a tragedy that haunts both Maverick and Top Gun fans to this day. This article was updated to include more information about Maverick’s relationship with Goose’s son, Rooster, and reflect CBR’s current formatting standards.
What Happened to Goose in Top Gun?
Goose Suffers an Accident During a Top Gun Training Mission
Played by Anthony Edwards, Goose was Maverick’s co-pilot for their F-14 fighter jet. That means he handled communications, navigation, and several other tasks while the pilot focused on flying. As the duo passed through trials to achieve the TOPGUN status, they were paired with Iceman to help take down enemy fighters for a combat simulation. However, things quickly went wrong, ending in Goose’s untimely death.
Top Gun pilots are said to be the best of the best, hand-picked by the U.S. Air Force to lead the most crucial and covert missions available. So, when Goose died during a Top Gun training mission, it was not only a huge deal for Maverick, but also for the entire program as a whole. Losing a pilot during a mission is a sad but unfortunate reality of war, but to lose a world-class pilot during a training dogfight was unprecedented. Sadly, the filmmakers based the incident on the real-life case of Luis Claudio Jaramillo, who served as a RIO and was killed in an accident very similar to Goose’s during the original Top Gun program about a decade before the events of the film.
What Caused Goose's Plane to Crash?
An Emergency Ejection Went Terribly Wrong
As Iceman engaged in a dogfight over the Pacific Ocean, he was unable to get a successful lock-on with his weapons. Soon, Maverick and Goose joined the chase, tailing close behind Iceman to try to get a shot at the same target. But despite his unsuccessful aim, Iceman insisted on following the target, yelling that he’d have a lock-on within seconds. However, with time running out, Maverick grew impatient and tried targeting the enemy while flying right behind Iceman.
Each F-14 was about to fire on the enemy when it suddenly darted upward to break free. As Iceman followed suit, Maverick’s F-14 sat too close behind and got caught up in the turbulence. It stalled one of his engines, causing it to burn out and stop functioning. Unfortunately, the problems didn’t end there for the pilots, as they now only had one working engine. That caused the F-14’s thrust to become uneven, resulting in a continuous spin as Goose and Maverick plummeted toward the ocean.
Why Did Maverick Blame Himself for Goose's Death?
His Close Proximity to Iceaman Turned Out To Be a Fatal Mistake
Instead of attempting to regain control of the fighter, Goose and Maverick knew it was a lost cause and tried to eject. However, with the g-force pinning Maverick back, he couldn’t reach the ejection cord, leaving Goose to pull his own. As the aircraft’s cockpit canopy opened up, both Maverick and Goose got launched out of their seats. While Maverick safely made it into the air, Goose wasn’t clear of the canopy and got sent headfirst into it. The impact of hitting the canopy likely caused his immediate death, as Goose was left to parachute down into the ocean below.
As for who was at fault for Goose’s horrifying death, that’s more difficult to pinpoint. Maverick blamed himself, as he shouldn’t have been as close as he was to Iceman. However, a trial soon determined that Maverick was not to blame for the accident, as he couldn’t have possibly regained control of the jet. There’s also the argument that Iceman was to blame because he knew Maverick was right behind him but refused to move and let him take the shot. In some ways, the intense competition between the two men is to blame, with both of them seeking the top slot among their graduating class without regard for the risks they’re taking in the process. Either way, Maverick was later forced to face the consequences of Goose’s death when he met his son, Rooster, in Top Gun: Maverick.
How Goose's Legacy Lives On In Top Gun: Maverick
Miles Teller Plays Goose's Son in the Top Gun Sequel
One of Tom Cruise’s highest-grossing films of all time, Top Gun: Maverick thrives on how tenderly it handles the legacy of its beloved characters. Although Goose himself does not appear in Maverick, his memory is strewn throughout the sequel, which does its best to help the late fighter pilot’s legacy live on long after his death. The most prominent manner in which the sequel accomplishes this is by introducing Goose’s adult son, Bradley Bradshaw, who is also known by his codename «Rooster.» Portrayed by Miles Teller, Rooster can carry on his father’s legacy, enrolling in the Top Gun program and becoming a skilled fighter pilot.
This comes despite Maverick’s efforts to ensure he doesn’t. As the movie reveals, Maverick promised Goose’s widow Carole that Rooster wouldn’t follow in his late father’s footsteps, something Rooster actively resents. Though he’s been dead for over 30 years, Goose still haunts both men, and his memory is now actively driving a wedge between them. The film underscores its action scenes with the pair of them slowly coming to grips with Goose’s absence in their lives, and the ways their own relationship has been damaged. It gives both characters an emotional journey, and their ultimate reconciliation helps the various action sequences feel like more than an empty spectacle.
Rooster and Maverick Learn To Move On Together in Top Gun: Maverick
The Two Overcome Their Differences During a Life-Threatening Mission
Seeing Rooster join the Top Gun team in Top Gun: Maverick strikes Maverick as another failure, setting up the film’s main conflict. Not only is he still haunted by the death of his loyal comrade, Maverick now has to face the consequences of a failed promise; he did everything he could to prevent Rooster from exposing himself to danger. The boy, on the other hand, was determined (and skilled enough) to do justice to his father’s legacy. In the sequel, Maverick is seen disagreeing with his superiors and struggling to manage his own inner demons. The risk of a life-threatening mission abroad hangs upon the characters’ heads. Still, none of these problems weigh as heavily as Maverick and Rooster’s contretemps.
At the center of Top Gun: Maverick lies the stubbornness that drives two different generations of men. Through Maverick and Rooster, viewers get to see more than just a great modern war movie. There are genuinely human struggles at play. Forgiveness, regret, and guilt are some of the emotions that conduct the movie towards its nail-biting climax, but also towards a mutual path of redemption for two troubled characters. Top Gun: Maverick plays with the audience’s emotions by hinting at all times that Maverick will eventually sacrifice himself to save Rooster, finally coming to terms with the guilt he feels over Goose’s death and resting like a true hero. The movie subverts expectations by going the other way around: it’s Rooster who comes back to save Maverick, unpredictably bringing the story full circle.
The F-14 jet piloted by Maverick and Rooster at the end of Top Gun: Maverick represents Goose’s spirit returning to tie the fate of his son and his beloved friend together. It marks the fateful moment in which both characters learn to move on and trust each other. Unlike many other recent legacy sequels, which fail to do justice to the characters of the original films, Top Gun: Maverick takes the time to honor characters like Maverick and Goose.
The sequel challenges Maverick in his relationship with Rooster, who wants nothing to do with him. As his instructor, however, Maverick manages to win Rooster over and, in some small way, can get his old friend back. By repairing his relationship with Rooster, Maverick finally learns to forgive himself for Goose’s death, which had haunted him for decades. Finally, Goose’s legacy is allowed to live in peace, with his family and friends harboring only positive memories of the fallen pilot. Top Gun: Maverick helps lay out the legacy of Goose, even decades after he died in the original Top Gun. While the exact circumstances behind Goose’s death may never be fully revealed, his tragic passing is a driving factor for the 2022 sequel and a big reason for its phenomenal success.
Top Gun 3 Is Happening With Tom Cruise Returning As Maverick
But Fans May Have To Wait A While
Top Gun: Maverick was a massive success, standing out as one of 2022’s highest-grossing movies. The legacy sequel hit the $1 billion mark on a $170 million budget, but it took Paramount almost two years to finally confirm that Top Gun 3 is happening. The announcement came in January 2024, along with the confirmation that Tom Cruise would be reprising his role as Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell. However, one year has passed without any concrete updates about the confirmed Top Gun sequel.
So far, there are only three confirmed cast members in Top Gun 3: Cruise, Teller and Glenn Powell, who are all reprising their Top Gun: Maverick roles in the upcoming sequel. The latest news about the movie comes from Jay Ellis, who played Reuben ‘Payback’ Fitch in the film and has shared some details about Top Gun 3’s delay with US Weekly:
In all honesty, they’re still working on the script. They’re still working on the story. They’re wanting to get it right.”
The actor added that he wants to keep his schedule open for any production updates, suggesting that Ellis will also likely be cast in Top Gun 3. There’s little information about the sequel, but the movie is definitely happening, and a script is in progress. Paramount’s decision not to rush things is a good sign – a signal they care enough to make a sequel as compelling as Top Gun: Maverick, delivering a fresh, entertaining story worth telling. While the studio has not revealed any details about the movie, it will likely explore Maverick and Rooster’s trajectory as an accomplished duo. With their differences settled, fans will finally get to see a mentor-pupil relationship as Maverick passes the baton to his best friend’s son.
