Texas Helicopter Crash: 4 Killed After Chopper Collides With Houston Radio Tower, Bursts into Flames

Houston: Four people, including a child, were killed after a helicopter crashed into a radio tower in Houston, Texas, on Sunday night. The crash occurred at approximately 7:54 pm US time when a private aircraft struck the radio tower in Houston's Second Ward, according to Houston police.

All four individuals aboard the helicopter were killed, and no one on the ground was injured in the incident. The Houston Fire Department reported that the accident happened in the city’s Greater East End neighborhood. Horrifying videos of the crash showing the collision and the chopper bursting into flames have surfaced across social media platforms.

J. Noe Diaz, the chief of police of Houston, stated during a news conference that the helicopter “either struck a cable” coming from the tower or “actually struck the tower.” It was not immediately clear if all four people aboard the private helicopter had died, and officials did not know the age of the child.

Following the collapse of the radio tower, a fire ignited in a grass field, spreading across two to three blocks, according to fire officials. The radio tower was the only structure on the ground impacted by the crash.

Chief Diaz mentioned that the families of the deceased had not yet been notified.

Sam Elsaadi was having dinner on the patio of a restaurant in the Greater East End neighborhood when he witnessed the tower collapse. “I heard something like fireworks, and I looked up and I saw the tower flame out and completely crumble,” Mr. Elsaadi, 42, said in a telephone interview on Sunday night.

Afterward, he drove a few blocks to the accident site, where he saw shards of the tower scattered on the ground and the grass on fire. Local fire and police responders arrived on the scene shortly afterward.

Houston council member Mario Castillo stated in a message on X that he was “monitoring the helicopter crash,” noting that it was a “private touring helicopter,” not one that belonged to the Houston Police Department.