helicopter was going to explode. >> is that going to blow up? >> but what about the three people inside the aircraft? >> the way it landed on the side of the hill and going forward, the first thing i thought was people would have hit the windshield. >> filmmaker jeremiah whitlock is behind the cam rain side the chopper as it goes down. >> the only thing that i felt as the chopper was going down is that slight sinking feeling in your stomach as you go, you know, over the top of a hill real fast in your car or the top of a roller coaster. >> after following the racers from a distance from the start of the course, whitlock wants to get in closer for the last series of turns before the finish line. >> the helicopter was starting to move into position so we could cover them better. >> whitlock is focused on the racers below, not on the position of the chopper. >> that's when the helicopter started to lose power. we started dropping quick. that's when the rotors starting clipping the top of the tree. i didn't really have time to think.