A CEO pilot whose horrific crash was caught on video had tried to land his helicopter four times and was flying the aircraft for the first time without his instructor, it has been revealed.

American Bank of Montana chairman Bruce Erickson, 65, and his friend Wayne Lewis, 60, were killed when his chopper exploded at McClellan-Palomar airport in Carlsbad, California.

The horrific November 18 accident, which progressed over nearly 4 and a half minutes, was caught on airport security cameras and filmed by several witnesses on their cell phones.

A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board federal accident report revealed that Erickson had bought the helicopter only three weeks earlier and logged nine hours of flight time on it, according to CBS 8.

Maintenance records show he also flew 8.8 hours of demonstration and familiarization flights in the aircraft, also with a certified flying teacher present, and had an additional two hours of flight training on November 2.

Erickson's first attempt to land his helicopter caused the aircraft to rock back and forth when he set it down partially off the helipad.

The rolling platform became unsecure as one of the chocks dislodged and both the helicopter and helipad began to spin together.

The helipad was resecured by airport line-crew and Erickson attempted twice more to land the plane, to no avail.

On his third attempt, the pilot landed the helicopter partially on the pad again, and the aircraft once more began to rock back and forth repeatedly before it spun 180 degrees.

Part of the helicopter hit the ground, separating the tail rotor and vertical-stabilizer assembly before the aircraft rotated 360 degrees and then landed on its left side.

More parts of the helicopter, including the main rotor blades, broke apart as it continued to rotate on the ground and the engine began to smoke.

Both men died at the scene.

Erickson had more than 25,000 hours of flight time and was able to fly different airplanes and helicopters, but was practicing landing at the time of the crash.

Friends and flight instructors said he had previously owned a Bell 407 helicopter.

American Bank of Montana said in a statement: "Bruce had a heart of gold with boundless energy, and his devotion toward community banking was unsurmountable."

"As a fantastic leader, he placed utmost importance on his employees and was very generous to all".