An influencer died in front of more than 1,000 fans on a livestream after his gyrocopter crashlanded and burst into flames.
Tang Feiji was broadcasting the flight to his followers on September 27, before he suddenly lost control of the twin-rotor craft in Jiange Country, central China.
Live footage of the incident showed the plane spinning out before nosediving to the ground and catching fire.
Horrified viewers flooded the chat with desperate calls of ‘save him’ and ‘call the emergency services’, while others left laughing emojis, unaware that the internet celebrity had died in the crash.
The 55-year-old, who had not been wearing a helmet or parachute, was tragically pronounced dead at the scene from the impact and the blaze that followed.
According to ECNS, Tang said he had mastered the aircraft’s controls after undertaking just one week of theoretical studying and six hours of cumulative practice.
The influencer gained initial attention online for posting clips of him flying his personally owned £36,000 aircraft.
His machine was an ultralight, single-seat coaxial rotor helicopter with a net weight of only 115kg, according to his previous videos.
It could reach a maximum altitude of 600m and a top speed of approximately 100kph he had told his 100,000 followers.
Following his death, Tang’s livestream account has been set to private, so only existing followers can access his content.
Multiple Chinese departments are now investigating his sudden death.
According to local reports, no one else was injured in the crash and no damage was reported.
But this was not Tang’s first brush with disaster – he had previously survived two crashes caused by technical failures, including a faulty fuel gauge.
When he first purchased his aircraft, he claimed a pilot’s licence was not needed to fly ultralight machines.
But aviation experts insist a licence is required for any low-altitude aircraft – which must also be registered with civil aviation authorities before flying.
