Alan Purwin

Alan David Purwin (August 28, 1961 – September 11, 2015) was an American helicopter pilot, aerial film operator, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Purwin founded and owned Helinet Aviation. Purwin contributed to the aerial cinematography industry and aided in the filming of hundreds of Hollywood movies such as Pearl Harbor, Pirates of the Caribbean film series and the Transformers film series.

On September 11, 2015, while working on the film American Made with Aerial Coordinator Fred North and Aerial Director of Photography Goss Dylan, Purwin died in a plane crash in the Andean natural region of Colombia.

Early life and family Purwin was born on August 28, 1961 in Southern California and was raised in North Hollywood, California. Purwin's father owned an automobile repair business. While in high school, Purwin earned his fixed-wing pilot certificate.

West Coast Helicopters and Purwin offered charter services, flying corporate executives and celebrities. In 2011, Purwin took Prince Harry on a helicopter tour of Los Angeles, California. One of Purwin's clients was Emil P. Martini Jr., a major pharmaceutical company executive. Purwin shot extreme aerial shots for up to ten films a year from a camera mounted onto his helicopter. Purwin shook up the aerial cinematography industry by changing the business model. Purwin often worked in dangerous conditions, and tried to "de-risk" when working in dangerous conditions. On the set of Tropic Thunder, Purwin recalled: “(Ben Stiller) would tell me, ‘Go crazy Alan, and do your own thing.’ And most of that stuff ended up in the movie.” Purwin's company supplied the drone work for a Narcos shoot in Colombia.

After Purwin's death in 2015, his wife Kathryn became CEO and owner of Helinet Aviation.

Cineflex In 2003, Purwin bought a controlling interest in Cineflex, an aerial-camera startup that developed one of the first gyro-stabilized camera systems capable of transmitting high-definition video from a helicopter without any loss of quality. At the time of his investment, the film industry was shifting to the high-definition digital standard.

ShotOver In 2012, Purwin acquired ShotOver Camera Systems. and develops aerial camera systems with gyro-stabilized camera platforms for the motion picture and broadcasting industries. Before founding VideoFort, Purwin was known to have the world's largest collection of aerial HD stock footage. Purwin along with J.T. Alpaugh were the first news crew to see the destruction zone from above.

In 2015, ABC reported that, although Purwin's and Alpaugh's first priority was to document the events, the team helped rescue many people during the disaster. In 1999, Helinet donated a Sikorsky S-76 to Children's Hospital Los Angeles as well as trained pilots and helicopter maintenance. Purwin served on the Children's Hospital Los Angeles Board of Trustees. In the crash, American pilot Carlos Berl was also killed, while American pilot Jimmy Lee Garland was seriously injured and rushed to a local hospital. The plane crash, in a twin-engine Piper Aerostar, is attributed to bad weather.

He is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills).

Tributes Ben Stiller tweeted: "Shocked about the loss of #AlanPurwin. One of the best people I knew and the greatest pilots ever. I put my life in his hands many times." F. Gary Gray wrote: "To the BEST PILOT in the industry! RIP Alan Purwin. Much love brother! Condolences to the @helinet family." Michael Bay posted on his website: Purwin "was one of the best aerial helicopter pilots in the world. It’s a very small group. He flew camera ships for so many – and for almost every one of my movies. We will miss him. He was one of the most loyal members of my team and a true friend." Helinet CEO Steve Gatena wrote on Helinet's website: “Alan Purwin was a great man, a world-renowned aviator and a brilliant entrepreneur. At Helinet, Alan was known for his passion, generosity and ability to make us all feel as though we were a part of something much bigger than ourselves."