Pilot Talking To ATC As Helicopter Hit Tower

The pilot of a Robinson R-44 that hit a radio tower in Houston on Oct. 20 was talking to ATC when it happened according to the NTSB's preliminary report. The helicopter was on a commercial sightseeing flight when it struck the 1,003-foot tower about 900 feet. All four on the helicopter were killed and the tower was toppled. No one on the ground was hurt.

The helicopter launched from Ellington Airport at about 7:42 and the pilot requested "the downtown loop" from ATC. A controller advised of another helicopter on a similar mission and asked the R-44 pilot to maintain visual separation from the other traffic. The pilot was reading back the ATC instruction when the transmission ended. The NTSB said the tower had three marker beacons.