A helicopter crashed Sunday after hitting a radio tower in Houston, killing 4 folks on board, together with a toddler, fireplace officers mentioned.
Houston authorities mentioned the plane, an R44 helicopter, went down simply earlier than 8pm in Houston’s Second Ward, east of town’s downtown, after apparently taking off from Ellington Discipline about 15 miles away.
The identities of the victims and their ages haven’t but been launched.
The tower into which the helicopter crashed is close to the intersection of Engelke and Ennis streets, the Houston fireplace division mentioned in a put up on the social media platform X.
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) discover printed 4 days earlier than the Sunday night time’s crash warned that at the very least a number of the lights on the radio tower in query have been inoperable, in response to an X put up from Pat Cavlin, a reporter for the Houston information outlet KHOU.
A put up by X person Jay Marroquin says it comprises a house safety digital camera video that exhibits the second the crash occurred. The video exhibits a tower with a lightweight blinking on the high, although there don’t look like another lights seen. The helicopter is flying a number of ft beneath that blinking mild when it strikes the tower, in response to the video.
Houston metropolis council member Mario Castillo added in a separate X put up that the helicopter that crashed was used for personal excursions.
The FAA and Nationwide Transportation Security Board (NTSB) mentioned it might examine the helicopter crash.
The NTSB course of may take as much as two years to finish, although a preliminary report with any accessible info concerning the crash is predicted inside just a few weeks.
Native media retailers reported a considerable amount of emergency personnel responded to the scene.
Police and fireplace officers urged residents close to the crash web site to name 911 in the event that they discover something on their property that would assist investigators.
The Related Press contributed reporting
