Four dead, including a child, after helicopter crashes into radio tower in Houston

Four people aboard a helicopter were killed when it crashed into a radio tower in Houston and caught fire, officials said.

The helicopter crashed in a neighborhood east of downtown just before 8 p.m. Sunday after taking off from Ellington Field, about 15 miles away, Mayor John Whitmire said at a news conference. He did not know the destination of the flight.

Officials said no one on the ground was injured and no nearby homes were damaged, although some vehicles were. The crash sparked a fire that burned about 100 to 200 yards of grass, officials said.

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Firefighters at a nearby station heard the crash and responded, Whitmire said. He said it was a “terrible accident scene” and that the tower and helicopter had been destroyed. Some area residents lost power, Whitmire said.

“It’s surrounded by homes and we were fortunate there that it didn’t fall in one direction or the other,” Whitmire said. “And the fireball was virtually isolated.”

The National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement that it is investigating the crash of the Robinson R44 II helicopter, which preliminary information indicates was conducted as a fly-by. The NTSB said the helicopter crashed into a radio tower “under unknown circumstances,” causing a fire.

Officials said a child was among the four people on board the helicopter, but the identities of the victims and their ages have not yet been released.

Police and fire officials urged residents near the crash site to call 911 if they find anything on their property that could help their investigation.

Citing a Federal Aviation Administration message to pilots last week, CNN reported that the lights on the 1,000-foot tower were “unusable” until the end of the month.

Police officers searched an area of ​​about 10 acres Monday for debris from the crash, Lt. Jonathan French said.

NTSB investigators were expected to arrive Monday to document the scene and examine the plane. The FAA will also investigate.