Robinson R44 accident near Houston, TX

On October 21, 2024, a Robinson R44 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Houston, TX. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.

Date

October 21, 2024

Place

Houston, TX

Aircraft

Robinson R44 · Helicopter

Injuries

4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Destroyed

Position

29.757°N, 95.338°W

NTSB ID

20241021195349

Official records · CEN25FA019

• Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation

Air traffic control records

• ATC - Attachment 1 - Certified Audio: Recording (ZIP), on ntsb.gov
• ATC - Specialists Service Review: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• ATC - Attachment 2 - Ads-B Data: Document (ZIP), on ntsb.gov
• ATC - Attachment 3 - Accident Package: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• ATC - Attachment 4 - Sop: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn October 20, 2024, about 1951 central daylight time, a Robinson R44 helicopter, N881KE, was destroyed when it impacted a radio tower near Houston, Texas. The pilot and three passengers sustained fatal injuries. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 business/revenue sightseeing flight. According to ADS-B data and air traffic control communications, the National Helicopter Solutions, LLC (NHS) commercial air tour helicopter departed Ellington Airport (EFD), Houston, Texas, about 1942, and flew north, then northwest toward downtown Houston (see figure 1). The pilot established communications with the Houston Hobby Airport (HOU) air traffic control tower (ATCT), Houston, Texas, local controller (LC) and requested the “downtown loop.” The LC identified the helicopter, approved the request, and issued the current altimeter setting. Several minutes later, the LC issued a traffic advisory for another NHS air tour helicopter, N233JD, that was at the pilot’s nine to ten o’clock position, two miles away, and northbound at 700 feet. The accident pilot reported observing the traffic on her ADS-B display but had not yet visually acquired the traffic and was searching for it. The controller instructed the accident pilot to maintain visual separation from the traffic, and the pilot was reading back the instructions when the radio transmission abruptly ended. No further communications from the accident helicopter were received. The air traffic control operations supervisor looked out the air traffic control tower window and wi

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from a lighted radio tower during a visual night flight. Contributing to the accident was the air traffic controller’s failure to issue a safety alert notifying the pilot of the flight’s unsafe proximity to the tower.

More accidents in TX

• Kubicek BB85, Jul 30, 2016
• Robertson C-414, Jul 29, 1982
• Textron Aviation B-300, Jun 30, 2019
• Beech B100, Nov 26, 1983
• Consolidated-Vultee PBY-6A, Oct 13, 1984

Browse: Texas · Robinson aircraft

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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.