US skateboarder Josh Neuman, 22, is among 4 killed after plane crashes

February 8, 2022

US skateboarder and social media influencer Josh Neuman, 22, is among four people killed after plane crashes into lake in Iceland while he was on his way to shoot ad campaign for Belgian fashion brand

Josh Neuman was killed when his sightseeing plane crashed into a lake in Iceland on Thursday. A body believed to be his was found on Sunday in Lake Thingvallavatn
Neuman, 22, was with Belgian fashion brand Suspicious Antwerp Sponsorship Manager Tim Alings, 27, and Belgium skydiver Nicola Bellavia, 32
The 49-year-old pilot Haraldur Diego’s body was also found and he as considered one of Iceland’s most prominent aviators and a pioneer of photography tours
Neuman was on the sightseeing tour to make content for Suspicious Antwerp, who he first paired up with in 2020
The plane, which crashed on Thursday, was found in a portion of the lake on Saturday, but weather prevented the divers from retrieving the bodies
Neuman’s family posted a statement on his Instagram, saying Josh was a ‘doer’ and a ‘dreamer’
The family also divulged that Neuman got to experience the ‘best night of his life’ right before he died when he got to see the Northern Lights
Their bodies have not officially been identified, due to not being able to retrieve the bodies yet, and the crash’s cause remains unknown

A social media influencer and American skateboarder, known for creating one of the most-watched skateboarding videos on YouTube, was one of four men killed when a sightseeing plane crashed into a lake in Iceland, authorities said.

Josh Neuman was found in Lake Thingvallavatn in Iceland – roughly 25 miles away from Reykjavik – on Sunday after the sightseeing plane crashed Thursday.

The skateboarder, 22, was on the flight to create commercial content for the Belgian fashion brand Suspicious Antwerp along with Tim Alings, the company’s sponsorship manager, 27, and Nicola Bellavia, a 32-year-old Belgian skydiver and social media influencer. The remains have not been officially identified and a cause for the wreck has not been released.

The pilot, Haraldur Diego, 49, was considered one of Iceland’s most prominent aviators and a pioneer of photography tours.

‘Josh was a doer, a dreamer and a gentle soul that saw the world through an opportunistic lens and took advantage of every moment while inspiring millions along the way,’ a post from his family on his Instagram page said.

American skateboarder Josh Neuman, 22, died on Thursday after his sighting seeing plane crash on Lake Thingvallavatn in Iceland

Neuman was best known for creating one of the most-watched skateboarding videos on YouTube, where his channel has almost 1.2million subscribers.

According to Neuman’s homepage, he began making videos at the age of 12 with his father’s video camera and later dropped out of college to pursue a career in extreme sports and filmmaking.

The skateboard first hooked up with the company in 2020, when he published a sponsored video skating on a longboard down a winding road in Los Angeles.

The skateboarder was making content for fashion brand Suspicious Antwerp when the plane crashed

‘We are enormously distressed by the news and our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends,’ the company wrote in a statement on their website, and said they were in ‘close contact’ with the families and authorities.

Suspicious Antwerp spokesman Bram Boriau said the purpose of the flight was to capture footage of Iceland’s stunning scenery.

‘All persons present were hugely passionate about travel and content creation, hence these themes were the main focus of the trip,’ he told the AP by email.

Neuman was with a 32-year-old Belgian skydiver and social media influencer Nicola Bellavia (pictured)

He was also with Suspicious Antwerp’s Sponsorship Manager Tim Alings, 27, (left) and Icelandic pilot Haraldur Diego, 49 (right)

Their bodies were found on Lake Thingvallavatn on Sunday, but divers were unable to retrieve them due to the weather. Some of their bodies are 157 feet below the water

Neuman’s family’s post said: ‘The entire world mourns with us as we are devastated and heartbroken to announce that our son…has suddenly left us.

‘Josh represents the side of humanity we all strive to achieve. The way he not just touched, but impacted lives, was on a scale of its own.

Neuman had just seen the Northern Lights in Iceland before the fatal flight; the skateboarder described it as ‘the best night of my light,’ his family said.

The four bodies believed to be the men were discovered on Sunday in Lake Thingvallavatn – Iceland’s second-largest lake – around 11pm with the use of an autonomous submarine and sonar technology.

Neuman was best known for creating one of the most-watched skateboarding videos on YouTube, where his channel has almost 1.2million subscribers

He began making videos at the age of 12 with his father’s video camera and later dropped out of college to pursue a career in extreme sports and filmmaking

https://youtube.com/watch?v=yn-TfAzobDI%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1

Poor weather has prevented divers from retrieving the bodies, which were found about 160 feet underwater.

‘For the safety of divers we have to wait until the weather improves,’ police chief Oddur Arnason told The Associated Press on Monday.

The plane reportedly didn’t send a distress signal after disappearing from radar on Thursday. More than 1,000 members of Iceland’s Search and Rescue organization helped hunt for the aircraft, which was found Saturday.

The Cessna 172 plane took off from the domestic airport in Iceland’s capital on Thursday, for a scheduled two-hour sightseeing tour.

Fashion brand Suspicious Antwerp released a statement confirming the deaths and said they are in ‘close contact’ with the families and authorities

His family left a statement on his Instagram page, calling their son a ‘doer’ and a ‘dreamer’ and encouraging others to be like him

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