Plane crash nola east (Fox 8 News anchor Nancy Parker killed in the crash...RIP)

I believe the Fox 8 camera guy filming the story said he saw them flying then he lost vision as they swung around a building obstructing his view, and he never saw them again. So I believe they were well in the air.
I will add that it is possible (though not very likely) that the pilot and the news crew had attained special permission to do aerobatic maneuvers over the airport and down the centerline of the active runway. But such permission usually is only granted when an airport is shut down for a public airshow. A pilot simply cannot choose on his own to perform aerobatic maneuvers over a public airport in a controlled airspace.

It's much more likely that the pilot was about to head out to the area over New Orleans East where we used to practice our flying skills, maneuvers, and emergency procedures. If he was buzzing over the airport for a while doing stunts with Nancy just to get video for the news story, they would certainty have had to get special clearance to do so and the FAA would have issued special Notice To Airmen alerts for the area.