Alan Purwin | Hollywood pilot, 54

Alan Purwin, 54, who staged heart-stopping helicopter chases for the movies and flew lifesaving missions for critically ill children, died Sept. 11 in Colombia in the crash of a small plane being used to transport crews for the Tom Cruise movie

Mena

.

He was in Colombia helping to shoot the film.

Carlos Berl, a pilot who also was aboard the twin-engine Piper Aerostar, was killed after takeoff from the colonial town of Santa Fe de Antioquia, officials in Colombia told the Associated Press. Jimmy Lee Garland, a pilot from Georgia, was critically injured. It was unclear who was at the controls as the plane flew into bad weather on the short hop through the Andes to Medellin.

Mr. Purwin was the founder, owner, and chairman of Helinet, a helicopter service based at Van Nuys Airport. With 18 choppers, Helinet works for TV news programs, does aerial shoots for films and TV, conducts surveillance for law enforcement agencies, and flies donated organs to patients in need.

Mr. Purwin worked on more than 100 films, including the Transformers series. In the 2003 remake of The Italian Job, he piloted a chopper that screamed through skyscrapers, skimmed over traffic-jammed streets, raced under a bridge and churned through a tunnel as it chased bad guys driving Mini Coopers in downtown Los Angeles. - L.A. Times