Wow! Happening now: A helicopter just hit a cell tower in Houston. pic.twitter.com/TBzpAU37Ne
— Ashley Jensen (@MrsJensen_13) October 21, 2024
Helicopter Hits Cell Tower Near Downtown Ninfas
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Last: 2 days ago by Stat Monitor Repairman
Just got a data minr alert, says intersection of engelke & ennis. That's video is wild. Also said a radio tower which would theoretically be a whole lot taller than a cell tower. Guessing the pilot must've not seen the tower?
https://maps.app.goo.gl/79QJJ6M2PfAo7rpE6
Looks to be this tower, which is substantially taller than a cell tower.
Looks to be this tower, which is substantially taller than a cell tower.
Police blotter says Univision tower?
Appx 1000 ft tall radio tower.
ATC audio in this tweet
Heartbreaking, this Robison R44 (N881KE) may have been doing a tour flight around Downton Houston per @liveatc audio. They were transiting the airspace around Houston Hobby airport and it sounds like the controllers witnessed the accident from the control tower.
— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) October 21, 2024
Unfortunately… https://t.co/wO13eu50zX pic.twitter.com/hQsZF0uqBA
Multiple fatalities including a child
Company just started flying out of Ellington on the 10th.
The attorneys will love this.
A interesting detail that @TheIntelFrog discovered and that the tower lights were OTS (Out of Service), this is rather common but you wouldn’t know unless you check your NOTAMs and that can be a daunting task. https://t.co/LTXUPo4zfW
— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) October 21, 2024
Makes you sick to your stomach.. you can see the R-44’s landing light illuminate the tower and the beacon light was in operation. Thank you to @xbtZephyr for sharing this. 😔 https://t.co/pD7pmCiIQt
— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) October 21, 2024
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If you google the owners LLC, looks like the owner was potentially a pilot bbased on the linkedin pic
was this just a total freak and random accident or was there some reason they were in the area by the tower? Its just crazy that they hit this tower with all the open air space around. report on ch 2 said the helicopter took off from Ellington but didn't know the destination.
Pretty sure it was a sightseeing tour from a company that just started operating out of Ellington.
Most likely just a freak and tragic accident.98Ag99Grad said:
was this just a total freak and random accident or was there some reason they were in the area by the tower? Its just crazy that they hit this tower with all the open air space around. report on ch 2 said the helicopter took off from Ellington but didn't know the destination.
Sounds like it was a sightseeing/joyride flight, and it also sounds like the helo was diverted around Hobby so it may not have had this tower identified since it probably wasn't on the original flight plan. With only the top beacon light being on, somewhat easy to see how a pilot could not see it since they were probably looking down and ahead and not up. They hit the tower several hundred feet below the top so it could have just been the absolute worst of luck and probably was.
FoxNews article on it. No details on victims besides the one being a child.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/fiery-houston-radio-tower-helicopter-crash-captured-surveillance-video
https://www.foxnews.com/us/fiery-houston-radio-tower-helicopter-crash-captured-surveillance-video
Quote:
The moment a helicopter burst into flames while crashing into a radio tower in Houston was captured on surveillance video as federal authorities on Monday are trying to determine the cause of the fatal wreck.
The Houston Fire Department told Fox News Digital that there were no signs of survivors after the helicopter carrying four individuals including a child plunged from the sky Sunday night.
"A Robinson R44 helicopter struck a radio tower and crashed in Houston, Texas, around 8 p.m. local time on Sunday, Oct. 20. Four people were on board," the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told Fox News Digital in a statement. "The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate."
Houston Mayor John Whitmire said the impact generated a "loud explosion" and left a "terrible accident scene."
A fireball could be seen lighting up the night sky during the moment the helicopter collided with the radio tower.
Fire officials said a blaze the size of two to three blocks started in a grass field after the radio tower collapsed. No other structures on the ground were impacted by the crash.
The tower "is surrounded by residents and that's where we were very fortunate that it didn't topple in one direction or another," Whitmire also said. "The fireball was pretty much isolated."
The identities of the victims are unclear, but one of them is a child, Fox26 Houston cited police as saying.
Some residents told The New York Times the crash shook their homes and said it felt like an earthquake. One resident said an explosion then occurred, and the lights in his home briefly flickered on and off.
City council member Mario Castillo wrote on X that a "private touring helicopter" was involved in the accident.
Why haven't they released the names of the deceased? Seems odd.
The tower fell on top of the helicopter and they may not have been able to get to the remains to confirm identities. KHOU says they started removal of the debris today.Agasaurus Tex said:
Why haven't they released the names of the deceased? Seems odd.
https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/helicopter-crash-houston-victims-investigation/285-8bf85474-826f-4a90-b34a-1683845b885a
There's enough publicly available info about the helicopter to figure out the owner and likely pilot. She has a FB page and a picture of the helicopter is prominent. The ATC audio indicates a female pilot.
IN the video there is a big flashing light at top of the tower?
Yes the red beacon light at the top was operational. The white flashing lights that go up the tower were not.DDub74 said:
IN the video there is a big flashing light at top of the tower?
Marauder Blue 6 said:The tower fell on top of the helicopter and they may not have been able to get to the remains to confirm identities. KHOU says they started removal of the debris today.Agasaurus Tex said:
Why haven't they released the names of the deceased? Seems odd.
https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/helicopter-crash-houston-victims-investigation/285-8bf85474-826f-4a90-b34a-1683845b885a
There's enough publicly available info about the helicopter to figure out the owner and likely pilot. She has a FB page and a picture of the helicopter is prominent. The ATC audio indicates a female pilot.
A witness on the news last night said they found an arm in the street. It might be taking a while to put everything back together to see who they have.
Found the FB page and if she was the pilot, I saw this comment she made:Marauder Blue 6 said:The tower fell on top of the helicopter and they may not have been able to get to the remains to confirm identities. KHOU says they started removal of the debris today.Agasaurus Tex said:
Why haven't they released the names of the deceased? Seems odd.
https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/helicopter-crash-houston-victims-investigation/285-8bf85474-826f-4a90-b34a-1683845b885a
There's enough publicly available info about the helicopter to figure out the owner and likely pilot. She has a FB page and a picture of the helicopter is prominent. The ATC audio indicates a female pilot.
She didn't even have her pilot's license 12 weeks ago.
Very sad. This on the heels of the Washington crash.
The local news showed on online add for this company advertising $25 helicopter rides. Showed pic of the helicopter (before crash) looked like a POS. I can't imagine who would get on that thing.
Place like that off 35 between Austin and NB. Right off the feeder road.
Heard the family lived in the Woodlands and both parents and a fourth grader were killed. Not sure if they had any other children but either way is incredibly tragic.
i dont know why anyone would ever get in one of those rinky-dink ass copter models. Every time i see one that style i figure its just begging to go down... esp with a brand new pilot who is "afraid of heights" ... yikes.
Took one over Iguazu Falls in Argentina. Probably not the smartest thing, but the view is something that is permanently engrained in my memory.jetch17 said:
i dont know why anyone would ever get in one of those rinky-dink ass copter models. Every time i see one that style i figure its just begging to go down... esp with a brand new pilot who is "afraid of heights" ... yikes.
The father in the helicopter has been identified.
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/houston-helicopter-crash-victim-19857328.php
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/houston-helicopter-crash-victim-19857328.php
Extremely popular for wildlife surveys. And very fun to ride in to be honest.
Would I ride in one around a major city? The answer is unequivocally no.
Would I ride in one around a major city? The answer is unequivocally no.
concac said:Found the FB page and if she was the pilot, I saw this comment she made:Marauder Blue 6 said:The tower fell on top of the helicopter and they may not have been able to get to the remains to confirm identities. KHOU says they started removal of the debris today.Agasaurus Tex said:
Why haven't they released the names of the deceased? Seems odd.
https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/helicopter-crash-houston-victims-investigation/285-8bf85474-826f-4a90-b34a-1683845b885a
There's enough publicly available info about the helicopter to figure out the owner and likely pilot. She has a FB page and a picture of the helicopter is prominent. The ATC audio indicates a female pilot.
She didn't even have her pilot's license 12 weeks ago.
The helicopter was leased to the touring company. If you're looking at the owner they likely had nothing to do with this crash.
If you licensed to take passengers for hire does that also include flying at night?
Flying a helicopter at night at 600ft seems like an expert level skill that requires hundreds of hours of ass in seat time.
Flying a helicopter at night at 600ft seems like an expert level skill that requires hundreds of hours of ass in seat time.
Stat Monitor Repairman said:
If you licensed to take passengers for hire does that also include flying at night?
Flying a helicopter at night at 600ft seems like an expert level skill that requires hundreds of hours of ass in seat time.
Yeah but what if you were getting $75 out of the deal?
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