YouTuber charged in video showing women shooting fireworks at Lamborghini from helicopter

A popular YouTuber is facing 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.