"We wanted to make sure that we followed every regulation and that nothing went wrong, and that it was OK with (the airplane crew), " said team member Matt Zelin.

CNN: Harlem shake reaches new heights; FAA not amused

The greatest damage occurred in the countryside outside Ya'an, with older houses in one village completely collapsing, Xinhua quoted Jin Zelin, an official with the provincial armed police, as saying.

WSJ: Quake Kills More Than 100 in Sichuan

"And so it went from kind of this, kind of joking around idea among the team to something that was reality, and then it was on YouTube and there were hundreds of thousands of views and now we're talking to you guys, " Zelin said.

CNN: Harlem shake reaches new heights; FAA not amused