Current:Home > NewsPoinbank:YouTuber charged in video showing women shooting fireworks at Lamborghini from helicopter -ProfitQuest Academy
Poinbank:YouTuber charged in video showing women shooting fireworks at Lamborghini from helicopter
SafeX Pro View
Date:2025-04-11 09:38:59
A popular YouTuber is Poinbankfacing a federal charge stemming from a video showing two women shooting fireworks from a moving helicopter at a Lamborghini sports car.
Suk Min Choi, who has nearly a million subscribers and is known on YouTube as Alex Choi, was charged Tuesday with "causing the placement of explosive or incendiary device on an aircraft," according to a federal affidavit obtained by USA TODAY on Thursday
The charge stems from the nearly 11-minute video that Choi uploaded on July 4, 2023, titled "Destroying a Lamborghini With Fireworks." In the video, filmed in California, Choi is seen pressing a "fire missiles" button while the two women in the chopper launch the fireworks, according to the affidavit, written by special agent Cristina Jones with the Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General.
Choi's video appeared to be the "live-action version of a fictionalized videogame scene," Jones wrote.
The video, which has been taken down, also gave viewers a behind-the-scenes look at how Choi coordinated the stunt, Jones wrote. Choi is credited as the director and he thanks a camera company for “being a part of my crazy stupid ideas," according to Jones.
Choi has not responded to an emailed request for comment from USA TODAY and does not have a defense attorney listed in court records.
Alex Choi did not follow the FAA's procedure to film YouTube video
Choi did not take the necessary steps outlined by the Federal Aviation Administration before shooting the video, including receiving a waiver to film and the helicopter's pilot developing "safe operating procedures, guidelines, and criteria to operate below the altitude required" by law, according to Jones.
The FAA also requires the aircraft pilot to submit a written plan of activities three days before the scheduled filming, which should include several details such as the "dates and times for all flights and the name and phone number of the person responsible for filming production events," Jones wrote.
The shoot occurred in 2023 on or about June 8 and June 27 in the El Mirage Dry Lakebed in San Bernardino County, Jones wrote.
The helicopter pilot in Alex Choi's video had license revoked by the FAA
An investigation by the FAA into Choi began on Dec. 5, 2023, according to Jones.
"(The pilot) operated the helicopter less than 500 feet from people and a moving car on the ground ... created a hazard to persons or property by allowing the fireworks to be launched at a moving passenger-carrying vehicle operated at less than the minimum altitudes," according to the affidavit.
The inspector's investigation also uncovered that at some point when the helicopter went toward the El Mirage Dry Lakebed, it turned its transponder off and disappeared from the FAA's radar near Redman, California, Jones wrote.
'Choi was doing unsafe activities involving cars and aircraft'
When the pilot of the helicopter initially spoke to the FAA on the phone on July 23, 2023, he initially said he didn't know about the YouTube video but later told investigators that "Choi was doing unsafe activities involving cars and aircraft," the complaint continued.
In an email sent to the FAA on July 25, 2023, the pilot said "he was not the owner of the helicopter and could not involve himself in any investigations concerning the pilots who use it," Jones wrote.
The FAA issued an emergency order of revocation for the helicopter pilot's private pilot certificate on Jan. 8, according to Jones.
Choi went to Las Vegas to buy fireworks because he couldn't in California
Choi filmed the stunt "on the federally owned portion of the El Mirage Dry Lakebed," Jones' affidavit says.
To perform the stunt, Choi spent $2,100 for the helicopter for three hours, and between $500 and $700 for the fireworks, according to a May 2023 email from the YouTuber that federal officials accessed, Jones wrote.
Choi went out of state to Las Vegas to buy the fireworks because it is illegal to purchase non-state-approved fireworks in California, according to Jones.
veryGood! (71783)
Related
- B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
- Stellantis recalls over 15,000 Fiat vehicles in the US, NHTSA says
- Lady Gaga's Hair Transformation Will Break Your Poker Face
- When do new 'Grey's Anatomy' episodes come out? Season 21 premiere date, time, cast, where to watch
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Caitlin Clark's record-setting rookie year is over. How much better can she get?
- Climate change destroyed an Alaska village. Its residents are starting over in a new town
- Evacuation order lifted for Ohio town where dangerous chemical leak occurred
- Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
- Roy Clay Sr., a Silicon Valley pioneer who knocked down racial barriers, dies at 95
Ranking
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Biden wants to make active shooter drills in schools less traumatic for students
- Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has been instrumental in 3-0 start, even without his usual production
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoes bill to help Black families reclaim taken land
- Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
- Alabama death row inmate's murders leaves voids in victims' families: 'I'll never forget'
- 10 homes have collapsed into the Carolina surf. Their destruction was decades in the making
- Wendy's is offering $1 Frostys until the end of September
Recommendation
Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
Get your Narcan! Old newspaper boxes are being used to distribute overdose reversal drug
US Open Cup final: How to watch Los Angeles FC vs. Sporting Kansas City
Digging Deep to Understand Rural Opposition to Solar Power
Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
West Virginia’s new drug czar was once addicted to opioids himself
Santa's helpers: UPS announces over 125,000 openings in holiday hiring blitz
Napheesa Collier matches WNBA scoring record as Lynx knock out Diana Taurasi and the Mercury