Houston TV Station Helicopter Crashes, Kills Two

Houston, TX (AHN) - A news helicopter on a coverage assignment crashed in a forest in Montgomery County, Texas Monday morning killing a pilot and a photographer.

Firefighters at the crash site in the W.G. Jones State Forest identified the fatalities as pilot John Downhower and photographer Dave Garrett, both from the Houston TV station KTRK Channel 13. The cause of the 11:15 a.m. crash is being investigated.

The station was airing video from the helicopter when the screen went black. According to witnesses' accounts, the Bell 206L4 leased from Helicopters Inc. made wide turns at 300 feet before falling to the ground off Peoples Road near Pine Acres Road, west of Interstate 45.

A resident nearby heard a loud explosion when the aircraft hit the street. Harold Robinson, a 45-year resident of the area, rushed to the crashed site but could not get near because of thick smoke. Volunteer firefighters extinguished the burning helicopter and the bodies of the two crash victims were found outside the wreckage.