A chilling video posted on Instagram by one of the victims of the East River helicopter crash in New York City captures the final moments of the passenger’s lives.
The chopper plunged into the East River waterway killing five of the six people on board on Sunday, March 11.
The 35-second video was shot by Cadigan, a video journalist, his brother-in-law Travis Howard told The Washington Post.
Footage shows one of the men flashing a thumbs up and smiling as the helicopter took off. It appeared to be around sunset at the time of the video.
It’s unclear exactly what caused the crash at this time. But the video surfaced as investigators were seeing if one of the passenger’s bags may have accidentally hit the fuel shutoff button, Fox News reported.
The helicopter was removed from the river on Monday afternoon.
The group of five passengers was flying on the private Eurocopter AS350 for a photo shoot before it crashed.
Footage of the crash captured from witnesses showed the helicopter falling quickly before capsizing in the water and tilting onto its side.
During the crash, the pilot managed to free himself and call for help, witnesses told reporters at the scene. A fire boat carried the pilot to shore where an ambulance took him to the hospital, according to The Washington Post.
New York City Fire Department Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro said at a Sunday night news conference that the pilot is “okay.”
“He’s a very good pilot,” his father, Anthony Vance, told the newspaper, adding that Richard has flown “a lot of years” with a commercial pilot’s license.
