Visitors to Flamborough Head said they felt helpless as they watched the Jet Ranger plunge into the sea yesterday afternoon.
Peter Greenwood, 60, was playing golf when he saw the helicopter "drop".
He said: "It was at cliff height and looked as though it was about to try to land on the cliff top.
"Then it dropped and it sounded like the rotors were slowing down.
"It was all over in seconds. It dropped below the cliff and that was it. There was no big crash.
"All we could do was watch, feeling helpless. There was nothing we could do."
The crash happened shortly before 1.40pm along the cliff top at a location known locally as Stottle Bink, near Flamborough Lighthouse.
John Howe, 67, was also playing golf at Flamborough Head Golf Course, close to where the helicopter went into the water.
He said: "The noise from the helicopter suddenly changed and it disappeared. A walker shouted 'helicopter down'.
"The emergency services were down very quickly."
Humber Coastguard co-ordinated the search and an officer was winched down by a search and rescue helicopter from Leconfield to assess the crash site.
Coastguard teams were sent from Bridlington, Scarborough, Robin Hood's Bay and Filey.
Bridlington and Flamborough lifeboats and Humberside Fire and Rescue Service also attended, along with Yorkshire Ambulance Service and Humberside Police.
Rod Marwood, 67, Flamborough Head Golf Club Course chairman, said it happened at the back of the 16th hole.
He said: "I saw it drop below the cliff and wondered if we were going to see it come back up.
"It never did and there was a thud.
"It has been a real shock and although we all rushed to where it had happened, there was nothing we could do. It is a 250ft sheer cliff to the sea. It was impossible to get down there."
The helicopter had set off from an airfield near Edinburgh.
A spokesman for Humberside Police said the force received a call from a member of the public reporting the crash.
He said: "The helicopter, which had two men on board at the time, was a private charter flying from an airfield near Edinburgh to its final destination near Retford.
"Two men were recovered from the aircraft shortly before 5pm, both sadly deceased.
"The Air Accident Investigation Branch will be leading the investigation into the incident to establish the circumstances which resulted in the aircraft crashing into the sea."
Unscheduled stop on way to Humberside AirportTHE civilian helicopter that crashed into the North Sea on its way to Humberside Airport made an unscheduled stop en route, it has emerged.
Two men died when the Jet Ranger, a medium-sized private helicopter, crashed at the bottom of cliffs near Flamborough Lighthouse at about 1.40pm yesterday.
The bodies of the men, who have not been named, were recovered from the wreckage at about 5pm.
The helicopter was flying from an airfield near Edinburgh to Humberside Airport, where it was due to refuel before heading on to its final destination near Retford.
It passed through air traffic control at Durham Tees Valley Airport shortly before the crash.
An airport spokesman confirmed the helicopter landed at an undisclosed location before resuming its journey to Humberside Airport.
