Houston Helicopter Crash: Juvenile identified among 4 killed in R44 helicopter crash in Houston’s Second Ward

Four people, including a juvenile, were killed after a helicopter crashed Sunday near Houston after colliding with a radio tower, according to fire officials.

The R44 helicopter, according to Houston authorities, seemed to take off from Ellington Field some 15 miles away before going down in the city’s Second Ward, east of downtown, just before 8 p.m.

The victims’ names and ages have not yet been made public.

In a post on social networking site X, the Houston fire department stated that the tower into which the helicopter crashed is close to the intersection of Engelke and Ennis streets.

According to accounts, at least some of the lights on the aforementioned radio tower were inoperable, as stated in a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) notice that was released four days prior to the disaster on Sunday night.

According to a post by X user Jay Marroquin, it includes a video from a home security camera that captures the exact moment of the collision. Although no additional lights appear to be seen, the video depicts a tower with a light blinking at the top. The footage shows that when the helicopter hits the tower, it is flying many feet under the blinking light.

In a second X post, Mario Castillo, a member of the Houston city council, claimed that private tours were conducted in the downed aircraft.

The helicopter crash will be looked into by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Numerous emergency workers arrived at the area, according to local media outlets.

Residents living close to the crash scene were asked by police and fire authorities to contact 911 if they come across anything on their property that would be useful to investigations.