A fiery helicopter collision with a radio tower in Houston’s second ward shook the entire city at 7:54 pm local time on sunday night. While reports of multiple casualties began circulating, a small group of city officials led by the City of Houston’s Mayor John Whitmire, flanked by Police Chief J. Noe Diaz and Fire Department Chief Thomas Munoz was quick to take to the airwaves and reassure citizens.
Praising the efficient work of first responders and emergency crews, the Mayor indicated that a Robinson R44 private helicopter that had taken off from Ellington field a few miles further south east from Downtown Houston had collided with a radio tower located near the intersection of Engelke Street and Ennis Street in downtown Houston’s second ward. The collision that had been caught on cameras resulted in a huge ball of fire triggering the immediate intervention of firefighters rushing from Fire Station 17 located only one block away. Once at the scene of the crash, firefighters were able to discover a large area where debris had been strewn, with fires raging, confirming the catastrophic nature of the crash. According to the Mayor, the well coordinated and highly professional work of various local and federal agencies that joined the scene revealed that four people who had been on board the helicopter had in facts died in the catastrophe. Of the four people, three passengers including a child had joined a pilot. The Mayor also invited residents to immediately inform authorities if they came in contact with any parts or debris from the destroyed helicopter. First responders and aviation safety experts from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National transportation Safety Board were at work trying to gather evidence and piece together the actual cause and unfolding of the crash. While comments have circulated regarding the deffective state of lightings that had regularly affected the radio tower visibility to aircraft overflying the area, live footage capture of the night time accident aired on television showed the helicopter with its blinking light approaching the well lit tower top seconds before the collision. The investigation remain ongoing.