At least four people were killed after a helicopter carrying several passengers crashed into a radio transmission tower in Houston on Sunday.
The crash happened just before 8 p.m. local time (9 p.m. Eastern Time) near the intersection of Engelke Street and Ennis Street.
According to local police, the helicopter had just taken off from an airfield nearby and was headed to an unknown destination when it struck the radio transmission tower, which is used by several commercial stations.
Several people, including a child, were on board the helicopter at the time of the crash, Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz told reporters Sunday evening.
“We don’t know the age ranges yet, but that we are pretty sure,” Diaz said, affirming that at least one child was on board the aircraft.
At least four people are dead, including a child, after a helicopter slammed into a radio transmission tower in Houston on Sunday. The anti-collision lights on the tower were reportedly not operating. Univision-owned radio station KLTN is reportedly off the air. pic.twitter.com/rDKseu3DB3
— TheDesk.net (@TheDeskDotNet) October 21, 2024
Radio transmission towers typically have numerous lights installed, as required by the Federal Communications Commission. At the time of the crash, some, if not all, of the anti-collision lights were not operating, according to public notices reviewed by The Desk. It was not clear if the helicopter’s pilot was aware of the matter before the aircraft took off Sunday evening.
Several radio stations were knocked off the air after the crash, including Univision-owned KLTN (102.9 FM, “Que Buena) and KAMA-FM (104.9 FM). Both stations were encouraging listeners to use their web streams during the outage.
Another station, KCOH (1230 AM), also broadcasts from the tower, though it was not clear if the station was knocked offline after the crash, or if it was transmitting from another location. It is not uncommon for AM radio stations in major metropolitan areas to have backup transmitter sites.
Several law enforcement agencies are investigating the crash, as well as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
