Federal officials say a California man has been arrested after allegedly shooting a massive amount of fireworks from an in-flight helicopter for a video he directed and posted to YouTube.
In the video, a white helicopter is seen flying extremely erratically above a desert landscape in California's San Bernardino County encircling a speeding white Lamborghini sports car while what appears to be a massive amount of Roman candle fireworks are fired from the fast-moving aircraft — seeming to simulate missile fire.
While it's unclear exactly when the video was filmed, it was posted to the YouTube account "Millionaire Motorsport" at least nine months ago.
The Department of Justice said Suk Min Choi, 24, of Studio City, was taken into custody on a federal criminal complaint that alleges he directed the video. Federal officials say two women were in the helicopter which was seen flying near the ground, and investigators say the aircraft was flown without permits.
The man who goes by "Alex Choi" was scheduled to make an initial appearance in a Los Angeles federal courtroom on Thursday afternoon, according to a statement from the Department of Justice.
According to an affidavit filed last year, Choi posted the video on YouTube, and allegedly pressed a “fire missiles” button while two women were in the helicopter as they shot the fireworks at the speeding sports car.
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The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is part of the investigation.
Officials believe the video was filmed on the El Mirage Dry Lakebed in San Bernardino County and say they saw a portion that shows a behind-the-scenes explanation of details about how Choi shot the video.
Choi is said to have only ended the video shoot when he discovered there were no more fireworks. He can be heard saying, “No, that’s it. We’re out of fireworks, right?”
If convicted, Choi would face a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.
