Helicopter crashes into Houston radio tower, killing 4, including child, officials say

www.khou.com ^ | October 21, 2024 | Lupita Villarrea

[Red Badger]

Sad Aviation Ping...............

[mewzilla]

FWIW....

https://abc13.com/post/flashing-lights-tower-hit-deadly-helicopter-crash-houstons-ward-had-history-not-working-skyeye-pilot-says/15449585/

[yldstrk]

Who was the pilot?

[Red Badger]

Someone who disregarded NOTAMs..................

[raccoonradio]

In addition some of the lights of the tower may not have been operating. Footage seen on Twitter shows the copter colliding with the tower.

[yldstrk]

Notice to Air Mission and the pilot can’t see either?

[Red Badger]

It was dark and the lights were not working. But should have avoided the area entirely...................

[yldstrk]

Oh no, the lights were out on the tower. Big lawsuit coming.

[raccoonradio]

Oops I see above that was mentioned in news.

radiodiscussions Houston board:
>>The tower’s lights had been out three days:
>>>Obstacle lights out of service since 17 OCT

[raccoonradio]

Another post on board
>>It looks like at least one of the lights was on (which could mean the NOTAM was likely due to one light being out).

This feels like pilot error.

[Red Badger]

The FAA had been notified and a NOTAM had been issued..........

[Pol-92064]

I hope the tower operator/owner has good insurance.

[T.B. Yoits]

The towers, as expected, are on the aeronautical charts. For non-pilots, they're the symbols that look like teepees or rockets with dots underneath.

There are several towers in the area, from 400' to 1,000' tall.

https://vfrmap.com/?type=vfrc&lat=29.607&lon=-95.159&zoom=10&api_key=763xxE1MJHyhr48DlAP2qQ

[Steven Scharf]

Four people, including a child,

I see no point in noting that a child was on board.

[Red Badger]

Adults can choose whether or not to board an aircraft, a child cannot.......

[Bon of Babble]

Another report I read said the FAA was asking nearby residents to check their backyards for human remains.

Very sad.

[nagant]

On the above linked crash videos a flashing light on the tower is visible a few feet above where the helicopter struck the tower. I could discern no other tower lights. I don’t know the regs about what lights must be present, but disregarding that light seems negligent.

[Red Badger]

I saw that as well..............

[minnesota_bound]

Why don’t helicopters fly higher then any obstacles so this does not happen?
Kobi Bryant helicopter flew below the hill tops in the fog when it was blue skies above the hilltops. They crashed.