NBC 7's air asset was in the right place at the right time Monday afternoon when the chopper's photographer spotted a cliff collapsing just north of San Diego's famed Gliderport.
Hundreds of pounds — tons? — of debris from the sandstone cliff began cascading down the sheer hillside at around 4:10 p.m. It appeared that all onlookers were well clear of the scene, which was just south of the Torrey Pines City Beach parking lot.
SkyRanger7 was originally sent out over the beach after a cliff rescue was called in shortly before 3 p.m. That scene was cleared by lifeguards a little after 4 p.m., however and the helicopter was able to shoot video of the landslide before leaving as well.
The entire collapse appears to have taken about three minutes.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
