The lighting on the radio tower reportedly failed days before the aircraft crashed into it, killing four people. Lighting on a Houston radio tower failed mere days before it was struck by a chopper on Sunday, killing four people in a vast explosion that fell the tower and swept debris around the neighborhood.
According to open-source data and investigating officials, the chopper flew at 600 feet when it collided with the 1,000-foot-high tower shortly before 8 p.m. on Sunday. According to a Federal Aviation Administration notice to pilots issued last Thursday, the tower’s lights were “unserviceable” until the end of the month.
Towers taller than 200 feet above ground level “should normally be marked and/or lighted,” and any tower lighting loss “should be corrected as soon as possible,” according to FAA guidance published in 2020. Towers and guy wires present a distinct risk to helicopters, which normally fly at low altitudes and are especially difficult for pilots to notice at night. The video of the crash shows at least one flashing light at the very top of the tower, but the remainder of the structure does not appear to be lit. During a late-night news conference, Houston Mayor John Whitmire stated that the crash caused a large explosion near Engelke Street and North Ennis Street, which could be heard at a fire station about half a mile away.
While the reason for the crash is unknown, experts from the National Transportation Safety Board are likely to arrive at the scene on Monday to analyze and salvage the aircraft, CNN reports. Law enforcement officers are searching for debris across the region, and the Houston Police Department’s vehicular crimes division is doing a three-dimensional scan of a 4-acre area to share with the NTSB and the FAA, Lt. Jonathan French said at a news conference Monday.
Additional NTSB investigators will arrive at the scene Monday evening and investigate for at least another day, according to Brian Rutt, an aviation safety investigator with the agency. The plane left Ellington Airport about 17 miles south of the disaster scene. Rutt stated that the helicopter did not have a flight data recorder, which is unnecessary.
According to the FAA, the flight was classified as “sightseeing,” and the helicopter is registered to Porter Equipment Holdings LLC of Magnolia, Texas. CNN has reached out to the company for comment. CNN received surveillance video from a nearby property, which shows what looks to be the chopper soaring toward the tower before exploding on impact, lighting up the sky. Witness video shows firefighters advising people to evacuate where a fire was blazing and alerting them of a nearby gas tank.
