Singers Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas photographed themselves flying in the same helicopter that crashed in the East River and killed five people yesterday.
The duo, who are childhood friends, sent a series of pictures to Snapchat followers in July 2016 showing them posing in sunglasses aboard the ill-fated chopper.
Some of the images clearly show the red Eurocopter AS350’s registration number – N350LH – which can also be seen in the photographs taken just before last night’s crash.
Some of the images clearly show the red Eurocopter AS350’s registration number – N350LH – which can also be seen in the photographs taken just before last night’s crash. Left: Lovato taking Snapchat selfies during her flight
A photographer captured this image of the helicopter that crashed just before it took off on Sunday. It is unclear whether those pictured were on board during the crash
Footage from the moment of the crash shows the helicopter descending upright onto the water as if to land, then hitting the water and flipping over
All five passengers aboard the helicopter died when it crashed into New York’s East River, but the pilot – Richard Vance – managed to escape.
The helicopter, a private charter hired for a photo shoot, went down near Gracie Mansion, the mayoral residence.
Video taken by a bystander and posted on Twitter shows the red helicopter land hard in the water and then capsize, its rotors slapping at the water.
The passengers were recovered by police and fire department divers, who had to remove them from tight harnesses while they were upside down, Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said.
Two of the five passengers died at the scene and three were taken to two area hospitals where they later died, New York City Police and fire department officials confirmed today.
A Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman said the Eurocopter AS350 went down just after 7pm
The duo, who are childhood friends, sent a series of pictures to Snapchat followers in July 2016 showing them posing in sunglasses aboard the ill-fated chopper
Nick Jonas can be seen enjoying his flight on the ill-fated Eurocopter AS350 back in July 2016. It crashed last night
Singers Demi Lovato (left) and Nick Jonas (right) photographed themselves flying in the same helicopter that crashed in the East River and killed five people yesterday
The aircraft was owned by Liberty Helicopters, a company that offers both private charters and sightseeing tours popular with tourists. A phone message left with the company was not immediately returned.
The skies over New York constantly buzz with helicopters carrying tourists, businesspeople, traffic reporters, medical teams and others. Crashes are not unheard of.
In 2009, a sightseeing helicopter of the same model and operated by the same company as the one in Sunday’s wreck collided with a small, private plane over the Hudson River, killing nine people, including a group of Italian tourists.
A map shows the flight path of the sightseeing chopper as it took off from New Jersey, flew over the harbor, and crashed in the East River. The flight lasted 11 minutes
Paramedics and members of the FDNY perform CPR on a victim of the helicopter crash. Two passengers were declared dead on the scene, and the other three died in the hospital
The downed chopper was towed to the 23rd Street seaplane dock dock in Manhattan. Its landing skids are seen enclosed in yellow flotation gear above the water line
A crash in October 2011 in the East River killed a British woman visiting the city for her 40th birthday. Three other passengers were injured.
A helicopter on a sightseeing tour of Manhattan crashed into the Hudson River in July 2007, shaking up the eight people aboard but injuring no one.
In June 2005, two helicopters crashed into the East River in the same week.
One injured eight people including some banking executives. The other hit the water shortly after takeoff on a sightseeing flight, injuring six tourists and the pilot.