Editor's Note: The four passengers on the private helicopter were killed in the crash, KHOU reported.
Houston Chronicle
(TNS)
Oct. 20—A helicopter crashed into a radio tower Sunday night in east Houston, plunging to the ground and apparently causing a fire, authorities said.
The crash happened around 8 p.m. near Engelke Street and Ennis Street, off Navigation Boulevard. Some witnesses had watched the helicopter burst into a fireball as it crashed into the tower, which Federal Communications Commissions records show stood about 1,000 feet high.
It was not immediately known if there were any injuries or fatalities. Officials, including Mayor John Whitmire, were expected to reveal more about the crash investigation at a news conference later on Sunday.
Marco Perez saw the crash from an outdoor concert at the nearby Our Lady of Guadalupe church on Navigation.
"We saw this bright light flying toward the church," Perez said. "That light turned into an orange red fireball."
Concertgoers gasped as they heard the shattering of metal, he said.
"The band stopped because everyone was screaming," he said.
He and his grandson walked close to the wreckage after firefighters put out most of the flames. He saw a pile of metal where the tower had stood.
"It was spaghetti," Perez said.
The chaotic moment was seen across the bayou at East River 9 golf course, where Dominique Davis was playing hacky sack. She saw the tower come crashing down "very quickly."
The radio tower, which FCC records show is licensed in Deer Park to Univision's KAMA-FM for latin pop, was surrounded by a grass field, which neighbors a scattering of industrial sites and some homes, according to aerial images of the area.
Flames were visible in early photos of the crash site, but city officials said the damage was isolated to the tower.
The Federal Aviation Administration has been notified of the crash, officials said.
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