NEW YORK (VINnews) — A Brooklyn yeshiva scholar safely reached Kerestir, Hungary, late last week before the helicopter that transported him crashed in southern Poland, killing the pilot, authorities said.

The passenger, from Brooklyn’s Boro Park neighborhood, had chartered the helicopter for travel from the Polish town of Radoszyce to Kerestir, a destination known for attracting thousands of Jewish visitors each year who come to pray at the resting place of Rabbi Yeshaya Steiner, widely known as the Kerestirer Rebbe.

After dropping him off, the helicopter departed Hungary and headed toward Zator Airport in Poland.

Early Thursday morning, the aircraft crashed in a remote, mountainous forest area between the towns of Limanowa and Mszana Dolna in southern Poland. Emergency crews launched an extensive search operation involving firefighters, police officers, mountain rescue teams, drone units, military personnel and specialized off-road vehicles.

Rescuers located the wreckage and the body of the pilot, a 30-year-old man, shortly before 8 a.m. Thursday. Authorities said he was believed to be the only person aboard the helicopter at the time of the crash.

Flight-tracking data showed the helicopter disappeared from radar at about 1:06 a.m. while en route to Zator. Moments before contact was lost, the aircraft was traveling at approximately 220 kilometers per hour (137 mph) at an altitude of about 880 meters (2,890 feet).

Police and aviation authorities are continuing to investigate the cause of the crash.