Brazilian pilot crashes chopper, saves lives

A firefighter stands by a TV helicopter that crashed in the Jockey Club horse racing complex in Sao Paulo on Wednesday, February 10, 2010. The Record TV helicopter crashed near a busy highway in Brazil's largest city, killing the pilot and seriously injuring the cameraman on board who was covering morning traffic and police response to a bank robbery. (AP Photo)

A firefighter looks on at a TV helicopter after it crashed in Sao Paulo. The helicopter pilot steered his crippled, out-of-control aircraft away from a busy highway before crashing in a grassy field during rush hour, losing his own life but avoiding greater casualties.

"The pilot was a hero because he was able to take the helicopter to a clear area, which is not something easy to do in Sao Paulo," air force Lt. Col. Ricardo Beltran Crespo told O Globo newspaper. (AP Photo)

An officer of the Brazilian Air Force inspects a helicopter of Record TV network that plunged to the ground. The Record TV helicopter was destroyed after going down next to the track of Sao Paulo's Jockey Club horse racing complex, a few hundred yards (meters) from heavy traffic on the thoroughfare. (AFP photo)

Picture of the wreckage of the crashed helicopter in Sao Paulo. Record TV said the pilot was pronounced dead at a hospital and the cameraman was seriously injured. They were the only two on board, and no one on the ground was hurt. (AFP photo)

Experts and officers of the Brazilian Air Force inspect the helicopter of Record TV network. The crash happened near the peak morning commute on the Marginal Pinheiros, one of Sao Paulo's busiest highways. (AFP photo)

Officers inspect the wreckage of the helicopter n the ground. Another news network Globo TV's helicopter was also flying in the same area when it received a distress call from the crashed chopper. The two helicopters were covering morning traffic and police response to a bank robbery.

"The pilot reported a problem and I decided to follow him to see what was going on," Globo pilot Dato de Oliveira said. "He reported a problem on the tail, which is something rare, but it's vital in a helicopter." (AFP photo)

A member of the Brazilian Air Force takes snapshots of a helicopter of Record TV network that crashed in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The pilot of the other helicopter Oliveira landed his own chopper after the crash and rushed to try to help the victims. He said he turned the fuel pump and the battery off in the downed helicopter to avoid an explosion. (AFP photo)