1 of 2 | The mangled radio tower remains crumple on the ground after a Robinson R44 helicopter crashed into it Sunday night, resulting in four fatalities. Photo courtesy of Houston Fire Department/X
Oct. 21 (UPI) — Officials surveying the aftermath of a deadly helicopter crash in Houston on Sunday are looking into the possibility that the aircraft struck a radio tower because its warning lights were not working.
The helicopter crashed into the radio tower in a fiery explosion that killed four, including a child.
Days before the crash, the tower’s lighting reportedly was inoperable.
The official cause of the accident is not fully clear. But NTSB officials were due Monday at the crash site to begin its investigation, CNN reported.
And according to FAA records, the tower’s lights were temporarily marked “unserviceable” days ago.
The crash occurred Sunday night in the neighborhoods of east Houston shortly before 8 p.m. local time near the intersection of Engelke Street and North Ennis Street.
On Monday morning, several streets still were closed as an investigation took shape.
“Preliminary info is that a helicopter hit a radio tower at about 7:54 pm.,” Houston’s Fire Department posted on social media just after 9:30 p.m. local time.
The wreckage from the crash will be taken to a secure facility for further evaluation, according to officials.
It’s under investigation by both the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board.
NTSB confirmed the helicopter was operating as a tour flight. It will be looking at multiple facets of the flight including information about the helicopter’s pilot, as well as information about their flying experience and credentials.
The explosion from the crash was seen and heard by local Fire Station 17 firefighters who then responded to the scene. And a large fireball was observed being ejected into the air, according to Houston Mayor John Whitmire.
“We had a caller coming to the station,” first responders were heard reporting. “There’s a large collapse behind the station with smoke showing. We’re trying to find the exact location.”
The Robinson R44 helicopter was reportedly flying at a 600-foot altitude before its collision with the 1,000 foot-high radio tower. Earlier, the helicopter departed from roughly 17 miles away at nearby Ellington Airport, a public- and military-use property owned by the City of Houston.
But ABC 13’s Houston SkyEye reporter Don Armstrong said he has had concerns about the tower for a long time. In all his years of flying, that particular tower, it was said, “always worried him because the aviation lights at the top of the tower are often out.”
FAA rules from 2020 require that towers 200 feet or higher need to be marked and lighting outages reported “as soon as possible.”
