THIS is the gut-wrenching moment a helicopter crashes after becoming entangled in overhead cables, killing everyone onboard.
Footage shows a black Robinson R44 helicopter slowly approaching the cables at a ski resort in Russia.
The pilot appears to believe he has gained sufficient height to safely clear them.
But moments later, the aircraft is suddenly snagged and violently yanked backwards.
It breaks free and plunges to the ground, crumpling into a twisted wreck.
Bystanders watch in horror as the mangled helicopter disappears beneath mounds of snow.
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The victims were two transport company executives who were visiting the Ashatly Park recreation centre in Russia’s Perm region.
They were later named as Ilyas Gimadutdinov, 41, and his colleague Elmir Konrad, 40.
Gimadutdinov, the founder of transport firm Tattranskom, was married and had two daughters.
Konyakov was also married and had one daughter.
Tattranskom provides transport services to Russia’s oil and gas industry and reported a turnover of £18.5 million last year.
Unconfirmed reports suggest the flight had not been authorised, while other accounts claim the helicopter may have iced up during the journey.
Following the tragedy, the ski resort was immediately closed.
Unfortunately, this is not the first helicopter crash to happen this winter.
Earlier this week, a man and his three nieces died after a private helicopter crashed and plunged down a canyon in Arizona.
David McCarty, 59, was flying family members in his MD 369FF helicopter through Telegraph Canyon near Superior.
Emergency crews were forced to hike to the remote crash site, reaching the mangled wreckage late in the afternoon.
The cops said all four victims were pronounced dead later that evening.
McCarty died alongside his nieces Rachel, 23, Faith, 21, and their cousin Katelyn Heideman, 22.
To make matters worse, the crash occurred just hours before McCarty’s wedding.
The group had travelled from Oregon for what should have been a celebratory family weekend.
McCarty, an experienced pilot, had flown the canyon numerous times without any problems.
He founded Columbia Basin Helicopters in the 1990s, building a business specialising in power-line construction, logging, firefighting, and aircraft recovery.