NTSB Prelim Houston Helicopter Tour Crash

[@bluesioux9538]

I'm just a person that listens to your channel but when a microwave tower that I drive by each morning at 4:20 am suddenly had no lights on it (top strobe not on too), I was concerned & bugged ppl where I work to find out if this was acceptable. I ended up sending a computer report of the lights out & location of tower thru an FAA or FCC website. It wasn't 10 min & I got a phone call from an office, and after much stress from the caller that I correctly understand the FCC's responsibilities vs FAA's role, i found out that a NOTAM was current on the situation with a no-fly zone around that tower area. The owners of the tower were apparently waiting for their light to come in. I felt pretty good, like I had learned to be aware & maybe help the flying public.

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

BRAVO!

[@patchmack4469]

well done that man, how long did it take for the lighting to be corrected? i hope the issue was rectified asap

[@RetreadPhoto]

@@patchmack4469 flying is the problem, not the lighting

[@kurtzbradley]

There should be temporary lights installed immediately, if it was their family at risk they would figure it out. Maybe a drone with an arm carrying magnetic attached solar led strobes. There should be no waiting for the Chinese light to show up or any other excuse.

[@pigdroppings]

High intensity flashing strobe lights.......local residents would be screaming if those lights were installed "You are destroying my view of the night sky"....they would say

[@180acessna]

I’m alive to tell you folks that an experienced low level pilot (pipeline patrol, mountain flying) can be a victim of momentary distraction from obstructions. I was in mountainous desert terrain with high power lines. A local pilot showed me the location of the wires. I still nearly flew into them after making a couple of 360s. The local pilot flew into the wires and died a year later. We are all subject to these mistakes.

[@beenaplumber8379]

None of us are beyond mistakes, and we should keep that in mind when we're judging others for their mistakes.

[@geraldscott4302]

I still remember back in the early '70s when I was about 13, a crop duster flew into power lines about half a mile from my house. He survived the crash with fairly minor injuries, but almost died from being soaked in pesticide when the tanks ruptured during the crash. While powerline poles are easy to see from the air, the lines themselves are not. I'm sure he knew the lines were there, he just didn't pull up quite far enough. Crop dusters are highly skilled pilots. The fly along at high speed just a few feet above a field, then do steep climb and tight turn at the end. I can't imagine flying like that. It's about the same as doing aerobatics, with obstacles in the way. Flying at high speed that close to the ground gives you no room for error.

[@ohsweetmystery]

@@beenaplumber8379What? Just because we all make mistakes does not mean this was not a stupid mistake.

[@I_SuperHiro_I]

No different than me having a momentary lapse, interrupting the interlocks out of order and getting shocked. By pure dumb luck I only got filament power and not 12kVA. Luck aside, I died that day too.

[@midlifecrisis7888]

Hope that drones can help mitigate some of the highest risk flying such as ROW patrols.

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

Flying is never "routine." As soon as it becomes routine it gets extremely dangerous. Thanks for the recap, Juan; you are saving lives by maintaining this channel and raising awareness across the flying community. RIP to the pilot and passengers.

[@BreandanAnraoi]

That's so true, and not just for flying - like it's the same for driving a car. Probably the most dangerous time in doing anything with risk is when you've done it enough to have just become routine, but not enough to notice tiny differences in the routine.

[@enshk79]

Every moment that you are suspended in midair is life or death. Every second could be your last.

[@SteveD328]

" As soon as it becomes routine it gets extremely dangerous." Truer words were never spoken.

[@Maximum_777]

I really like that opening quote, and I think the same applies to driving, but possibly even more so because we tend to not take driving nearly as seriously as flying, and I think people become much more complacent.

[@SimonLant]

You know when Juan takes off his glasses and breaks the 4th wall that he has found a LOT of holes in the swiss cheese. RIP to those involved.

[@Hjerte_Verke]

Except there is no fourth wall in a Juan video. He acknowledges the audience and the camera 24/7. 😉 We need to reclaim the language in its original intent and not create new definitions with old terms, if not then I guess yes really does mean no and black is white. Let's do it! Spread the word brother

[@SimonLant]

@Hjerte_Verke ha fair. I simply meant that he looks directly to the barrel of the camera (4th wall) to make his point rather than looking at his screen just off to the side.

[@mikef2618]

Thank you, Juan, for the in-depth reporting that you always accomplish. Couple of things I noticed as a former tower climber. First, tower lights are known as "obstruction" lighting, not "obstacle" lighting. And, that tower in the video with the really bright white lights isn't normal. That strobe lighting system is stuck in high-intensity day mode, and probably causing a lot of complaints from neighbors. Possibly a bad photoeye and the system fail-safed to day mode. I've been out of the tower business for quite a while now, but I've never seen red flashing beacons alongside white strobe or LED beacons. It is one or the other. Some towers use red at night and white for daytime in lieu of painting the tower. If you see both at the same time on the same tower, it may be that the old red system is being replaced by a new LED system and being run together for testing before cutting over to the LED's, or again, a failed photoeye.

[@sotagoat4623]

Yup....id say ur spot on. I remember tshooting capacitors on those crappy flashtech boxes.

[@mikef2618]

@@sotagoat4623, oh yeah! And replacing totally corroded terminal strips that were covered in green fuzz.

[@6yjjk]

That figure with the previous tracks is telling. You'd think that there would be a standard routing putting them well off to one side, the same side, every time.

[@bbgun061]

Exactly what I'm thinking. I wonder if the pilot knew about the tower at all. What was the tour company's plan? Did they have safety briefings that included the obstacles on the route? Did they have a designated route with landmarks or waypoints that would keep them clear of all dangers? Why was another helicopter from the same company in the same spot? Did they not coordinate their flights?

[@qbi4614]

It was only a mater of time, what a stupid idea

[@jtjames79]

NASA had a system in the '80s that the FAA completely rejected because they were worried about pilot jobs. Paper about how moths use ultrasonic detection to avoid bats was published decades ago. Similar biomimicry has been used ever since then for swarm robotics. There's lots of white papers. You can just copy and paste the equations. Now we have LLMs and generative AI. This will all stop happening when pilots stop being protected.

[@VictoryAviation]

I have no idea why they didn’t have a standard path corridor, at least for night ops. I fly pipeline every day for work. We use forefight and KML files non-stop. The company could have easily set up custim KML layers to use for different routes, including annotations for hazards.

[@LaggerSVK]

it looks like the flightpath was basically put through that tower

[@simonsmith3060]

In the same vein, me and 6 crew made a late night approach into King Harbor (Redondo Beach) in our 40' sailboat after a storm with strong winds. Distinguishing the marine lighted nav markers from the traffic lights and 7-11 signs became impossible as we approached. If it wasn't for an oilfield crew boat cutting inside us at the last minute, we would not have made the harbor entrance and would have gone on the rocks. I can't even imagine this same scenario in 3D. We were lucky in 2D.

[@jakebrodskype]

I used to work for a water utility with towers on or near several airports. Keeping the lights working properly even on towers of just a few hundred feet tall was difficult. Lightning strikes, sunlight damage on wire insulation, and bulb flasher failures were fairly common. And yes, we phoned in these problems to the local FSDO all the time. But here's the thing: If you're flying that low, you're playing with fire. There are lots of things you could run into. I loved flying at night, but I stayed well above any possible obstacles because I knew that the lights I could have been looking for were not a sure thing.

[@sotagoat4623]

Out in the boonies....i had arrows and bullet holes in my plastic lenses. Red glass from old ones all over gravel below. Ugghhhhhhh fudge

[@mikeh2520]

Juan, the lighting requirement are either red at night with flashing red beacons and steady lit red obstruction lighting (not called obstacle lights). The other alternative is LOW intensity white strobes at night and High intensity white strobes in the day. Many tower light systems change between high intensity white strobes in day mode and red LED lights in the night mode but they are never mixed with white and red at the same time. If you see those in your video then they must be two different towers lined up so they appear as one tower. I take care of broadcast towers for my job so I am familiar with tower lighting.

[@user-zp5vj2bl8o1]

Juan, you are correct. Blancolirio is not competent enough to even comment on this. Find someone more competent to follow...

[@mark12.31]

Thank you. I'm no expert in that area but thought when he was explaining that part that it was incorrect. I think the tower with the high intensity white strobes at night was a fault and not proper, at least in my observations over the years that's the case.

[@bradcrosier1332]

@@user-zp5vj2bl8o1 - And you’re clearly not competent at reading the English language. MikeH was responding to Juan (who’s is Blancoliri), hence the comma. Now pipe down sport, the adults are talking.

[@57Jimmy]

That’s probably why Juan spends most of his time flying at FL360, too much garble-dee-goop in the way down there!

[@57Jimmy]

@@user-zp5vj2bl8o1 Huh? Juan and Blonc… ARE THE SAME! Get into some bad weed or what?😂

[@ericvadekro8334]

Much Respect concerning sharing your own near miss !

[@SIGINT007]

Juan, if the tower has red beacons for night use, then there is no white light at night. All side markers and top beacon(s) are red as per FAA requirements. Whether or not the top beacon was out or there was a NOTAM, that helo was WAY too close to that tower and too low when there are known 1000 foot towers in that area. The white strobe video you showed is actually out of compliance as those white strobes are stuck in day mode and shouldn’t be that bright at night. My condolences to the families but this was totally preventable.

[@Drmcclung]

not exactly true as this tower for-sure has had concurrent white strobes and red lights before. I don't know why strobes were inop various times in history but there have always been at least 3 red lights going after dark and the strobes always being randomly working or inop. So I don't exactly believe the NOTAMS were accurate as far as "inop"data

[@JoshsGadgetsandMore]

​@@Drmcclung this tower near downtown has never had white strobes.

[@SIGINT007]

@ white and red don’t flash at the same time…white is day/night when by itself or it’s white day /red night when dual colored.

[@mark12.31]

Thank you!

[@Drmcclung]

@@SIGINT007 I think some commenters might have mistaken the functioning lights for white light due to all the low-res security cam videos floating around the web right now, especially with there being plenty of other tall structures in and around the area with a white nightlight I can see how people could assume that. But to clarify yes this particular tower *in the past* has had white strobes, and sometime running concurrent (intentionally or not) with the red ones. Couldn't tell you if that was a maintenance issue or an FAA oversight but it's how it was at various times. But no matter what, it always had functional red lights even during the week hell froze over down here

[@dahinsoncoj]

When I was a LEO patrolling and area within our county known as the tower farm-east. I observed the anti collision vertical obstruction warning lights were not functioning on one of these six towers. This particular one had several repeaters that served our agency and fire-rescue department comms for the eastern zones to the ocean. One of our air units came up on the frequency to confirm the exact tower. A call to the Jax FAA office and TRACON Center issuing a NOTAM and TFR. The lighting issue was resolved within 24 hours. The units patrolling this area still call in the tower lights are working 40 years later. It never hurts to have built in redundancy from the ground, as this eliminates ground clutter back lighting from the air.

[@masonjones3780]

Young Juan. Thought that was Tom cruise for a minute!

[@MikeR-ig5bw]

I was thinking Harrison Ford!

[@trinity72gp]

Wow

[@bobhensel5790]

There are 2000’ towers further along in the loop. Seems to me this tour loop at night creates a not if but when crash scenario.

[@NicolaW72]

Indeed.

[@Drmcclung]

Yep

[@cavsh00ter]

yep down in the stafford area, there are a whole groupe down there,

[@wadepatton2433]

Is this a "new generation" thing with trying everything to the extreme? Pushing for "realism"? Clipping guy lines makes it too real too fast I'm sure. Terrible loss, and we must wonder how much "commercial thrill appeal" was calculated into flying these low in-town loops.

[@stephenst-pierre9533]

The New Generation…of making money

[@stevelacker358]

Electrical engineer with some lighting background here. A tower switching from white strobes in daylight hours to red beacons at night is, as far as I am aware, STANDARD operating procedure. When white strobes first became common in the late 70s or 80s, it was common for them to switch from high intensity to low intensity at night… note that this was the days when strobes were xenon gas pulse discharge lamps. That allowed complete elimination of under-driven (but still comparatively short lived) incandescent lighting, which was used for red beacons since the dawn of radio towers and aircraft.. When LED lighting became powerful enough to replace both white xenon strobes AND red beacon lamps, it became practical and preferred to go to white strobes in daytime, and red beacons at night. So while the FAA A and G type towers mentioned do refer to both red beacon and white strobe, I do not believe that *simultaneous* operation is required. The regulations aren’t my area of knowledge so I’m open to correction here, but I have observed that virtually all towers switch at dusk/dawn, and I know the lighting the technology progression that led to where we are. Also… as an advocate of dark skies and reduced light pollution in general (which would incidentally aid contrast between towers and city light pollution) I would never want to see high intensity strobes required at night across the board. Perhaps on specific towers in. identified urban areas with high background light pollution, but absolutely not, for example, at the cell tower on my rural ranch land in one of the few remaining truly dark-night regions of Texas.

[@unrestrictedclimb7]

Agreed, we have an unpainted tower and run strobes during daytime hours and red at night. The running strobes at night will annoy those living in the immediate vicinity the tower,

[@nelew6454]

thank you for all the additional info!

[@Roxko4]

R.I.P. and please be careful everyone. I really only want Juan to talk about you if you are at an airshow or doing something noteworthy, He always does a great job, but too often it is sad.

[@clicks59]

Juan, thanks for presenting the facts regarding this accident in such an honorable and factual fashion. Such a tragic and totally a preventable accident. My sincerest condolences to the family and friends of those who lost their lives.

[@xfirehurican]

*The FIRST THREE FATALITIES I witnessed in Vietnam: Three U.S. Army, (2 crew, 1 pax).* *Daytime,* *OH-6 Cayuse,* *"Loach".* Blade strike on one of our 200' antenna cables at FLC Red Beach (USMC). Helo impacted the ground ~50' from the base of the mast, missing me ~60'. I'd been in-country less than a month.

[@hogey74]

Welcome to the fr!kk!n war. Sorry to hear mate. Glad you made it out of there.

[@georgegeranios2918]

Yes, LOH (Light Observation Helicopter) Had a fatback back to base on one. The sports car of helicopters!

[@xfirehurican]

@georgegeranios2918 Yep. These guys buzzed the compound twice; the reason why I looked up. They flipped on the cable and 'flew' straight into the ground.

[@garyreed2206]

Pilots have the same problem with runway lights. Many times, if the runway isn't pointing at us, it can be very hard to find the airport in the middle of a busy set of city lights.

[@jimchesnutt7879]

During my training I flew a night approach into Long Beach across the LAX Bravo, and having never been there before it took a while to locate the airport lights in a very lit up area.

[@MrBugleboyb]

Also when cleared for a visual approach at night with traffic to follow. So easy to follow the wrong set of lights.

[@beenaplumber8379]

I used to fly jumpseat when I worked for a regional (long ago). The pilots never had a problem spotting the hub, obviously, but some of the outstations could be a challenge for the newer pilots. The beacons surprised me. Nothing else pulses at that rate, and that makes the airport a lot easier to spot in the mass of lights, if not the runway.

[@lrmbvv]

runway lights are uni-directional, not omni-directional, airport beacon identifies the airport, compass card confirms runway orientation

[@mowtivatedmechanic1172]

This is why we load an IFR approach 100% of the time even in pure visual conditions.

[@Drmcclung]

Forgot to thank you for covering this crash in a video and for revisiting us with the preliminary today. This one was extremely personal to a lot of people here, pilots and residents. Update 11/1: CHANGES ARE ALREADY BEING MADE, CHOPPER TRAFFIC THROUGH TOWN HAS HUGELY REDUCED, AND IS FLYING HIGHER.

[@jimmiller5600]

Lawyers & insurance are screaming at their clients. Money doesn't just talk, it yells.

[@1robrace]

Why would tour ops at an altitude below the tower height even be allowed?

[@NicolaW72]

Good question.

[@beenaplumber8379]

I suspect ATC wants to keep them at 500' AGL to keep them clear of traffic in the class B.

[@zfunk9]

Cars drive at 0ft and there are trees and obstacles at 0ft too. You have to see them and avoid them, not drive into them.

[@chrisnoname2725]

@@zfunk9in a car you don’t see the trees to avoid them, you avoid them by seeing the road and staying between the reflectors

[@chrisnoname2725]

To be lower than the buildings so you get a better experience flying next to rather than over them maybe. As others have stated, yo keep them out of the way of other ops. My question is why people have such an unrealistic expectation for everything they do to be 100% safe. It is a ridiculous expectation and if people really think safety is the only important thing they need to stay home and not try and impose their priorities onto people who want to live an enjoyable life rather than merely existing

[@fred_brunell]

FWIW, that tower you showed with the really bright strobes was not operating properly. That was "day mode" for that lighting setup.

[@oldcynic6964]

There seemed to be several towers with different lighting arrangements. I wonder if this is an excerpt from an investigation into "what types of lights are best". That might explain why the tower that you referenced what operating its lights that way. Just a thought. If so, it would be interesting to know what organisation commissioned the investigation, and what were its conclusions. Juan - if you read this, please tell us where that clip came from. Thanks

[@jonathanguthrie9368]

According to the Houston TAC, that tower isn't supposed to have high-intensity strobes, so they reason the strobes weren't operating properly is because they weren't there. We cannot know if it would have prevented this accident. My limited night experience suggests that those red lights do tend to blend in.

[@fred_brunell]

@@oldcynic6964 Could be a test run, but you might've noticed there was also lightning in the video. The strobe system controller uses a basic light sensor, so could've been triggered by the lightning. They generally switch instantly to day mode and are delayed in switching back to night mode.

[@fred_brunell]

@@jonathanguthrie9368 Right, but my comment was not about the tower that got hit. I was referring to the clip at 9:00.

[@Vendemeer]

Exactly, either someone testing the controller or a control failure. High intensity at night would not be tolerated by the neighbors and the FCC would get calls.

[@restojon1]

This one really is an absolute shocker, really devastating. Thanks for handling so sensitively as always.

[@manifestgtr]

Momentary losses of situational awareness are FRIGHTENING, man. I had a minor one recently where, on approach, my moving map orientation switched from “bearing” to “north”…instead of the map moving with my nose, it was fixed with north facing up. It was almost certainly something that I did. At any rate, while I was on base, that sudden switch in orientation made it look as though I was heading straight for this other airplane who was, in reality, on an opposite downwind (this is a towered field that gets a bit complicated, pattern-wise). My brain went “?!?!?l” and I cut my base leg from 90 degrees to 45 degrees in that one weird little moment. I recomposed myself, re-figured out who was where and landed without an issue. Nobody else in the pattern or in the tower knew about that 15 second mini drama that went on in my little airplane. Losses of situational awareness with regards to tall obstacles are a million times worse, obviously. But these things can happen at every level, during any phase of flight.

[@kevinallen1699]

In the Crane World, you also set your Swing Obstacle Warning ( if, so equipped ) some extra feet more than required for the exact same reason. You may forget that power line is there.

[@hoverluver]

The attitude of the R44 did not obscure her vision. This is a totally avoidable accident. Also do not forget about the guy wires that reach out to the ground. This is a dangerous flight for people to take. Typically tour pilots are just building time. As a former US Army Helicopter Pilot I can tell you that hours do not indicate experience. This was a terrible mistake.

[@PTANV-x2g]

I can’t understand why these flights were going on at night at all.. what is there to see besides lights?? Stick to flying these tours during the day.

[@robertbennett6697]

@@PTANV-x2gThe difference is similar to looking at a Christmas tree during the day to viewing the same tree lit at night. Cities are now using night lighting themes as an attraction. Arriving at night in New York City, on a commercial flight, just as a snowstorm ended and the streets were not yet cleared, we were alerted by the pilot to view one of the most outstanding sights he had ever seen. Unforgettable.

[@darin982]

These tour operators that fly the same routes near high antennas need to have established flyover points away from obstacles that way they never get near them.

[@bdcochran01]

1. I am not a pilot. 2. I appreciate your report on the accident. 3. I now have a confirmation of my decision never to take a tour by air, whether a local helicopter or small plane.

[@RetreadPhoto]

Especially with a new company and a new to the area pilot, at 8 PM, at 108 MPH. Go to Six Flags for a thrill.

[@kevinbrady9626]

I feel the same way about Parasailing on the beach. People are way too trustworthy in the people running the show, and they have no idea about training, condition of the equipment, or safety protocols

[@nightshift5201]

@@kevinbrady9626 Yup. Dope-On-A-Rope is the stupidest activity. I was cajoled into doing that in Mexico and they forgot to do my leg straps. Hung by my armpits for 5 min before the guy looked up in horror and landed me. Soon after that an American guy in another resort was killed after slamming into a beach condo in high winds. Never again.

[@webcucciolo]

For the non-pilots out here, having traffic on ADS-B does NOT count as reporting traffic in sight (common mistake of the new generation, who in my opinion is relying a little too much on their electronics. It is great to use all the electronic support we can get, provided that it does not increase complacency and decrease piloting skills). This is why ATC requested visual separation. As for the "turning slightly left while looking right", I had this problem since my PPL times, especially when under the hood or in IMC: when I bend down to switch the fuel tank selector on Piper Warrior, or when I look down to brief an approach, I tend to give small inputs to the yoke. My solution: when I do these actions, I keep only my fingertips on the yoke, maintaining the feeling but avoiding unwanted inputs. It is sad that such small details resulted in the loss of 4 lives. As usual, the best we can do is learning from this

[@beenaplumber8379]

I think many non-pilots have probably done something similar while driving a car, or maybe they've been in a car when the driver does something similar - they turn to look to the side, or maybe to pay attention to the kids in the back seat or something, and the car drifts across the lane, maybe into the other lane or onto the shoulder. It's not hard to do, but I think it gets less common with experience.

[@chrisschack9716]

Really, how do you see and avoid when you don't see in the first place? You're right, you have to SEE them to maintain visual separation, at best use ADSB to find out where to look. The rest is just very unfortunate...

[@hotrodray6802]

Get off of the controls. It won't fall out of the sky if it is trimmed.

[@RetreadPhoto]

@@hotrodray6802you really think she was messing with it on an R44 for such a short flight, especially so close to a turn?

[@Drmcclung]

Sorry, I have to disagree with the preliminary; I was there and the Robinson was well below the documented 900ft at time of impact, much closer to 700-800ft max, all the way to collision. The tower itself is/was closer to 950ft from ground level as this part of the subdivision sits substantially higher up than the surrounding areas around the bayou (you can see that for yourselves in areal shots as old as the 1950's). For what it's worth the white strobes have never been 100% operatioal 100% of the time and it was never an issue before. The red lights have always been on after dark even in blackouts. I agree 100% with Juan and everyone else bashing their heads over these ridiculous lookey-loo chopper night flights that are out of control all over SE Texas and have been ever since the pandemic, this was always going to happen eventually. This is a dangerous low fly trend HCSO and HPD set for themselves during initial lockdown, because who was gonna tell them not to. Media and EMS rarely ever actively fly below 1,000ft in this area, never anywhere close to the antenna.. in 53 years of living blocks away.

[@Drmcclung]

And for the troll bots about to break their keyboards over me saying HPD & HCSO, yes.. they started this. And when they said "OK this is fine, carry on" most civilian pleasure craft began doing it, some of which are way too cavalier about it - that's what I meant, don't twist it.

[@michaelimbesi2314]

I’m going to trust the trained NTSB accident investigators who can literally just measure the location of the debris embedded in the tower with a tape measure over the Mk 1 human eyeball trying to work at night over a distance.

[@nunyabidness3075]

I think the heli guys might be staying low in that area to avoid the traffic in the VFR corridor between Hobby and IAH.

[@Drmcclung]

@nunyabidness3075 couldn't say for-sure what local Media and EMS heli flyers think as far as their own altitude norms, I'm sure it varies pilot to pilot company to company situation to situation, but they're almost never sub-800ft ground level in transit. I mean it happens it just isn't often or for very long. It's too unnecessarily risky.. this is not a good place to fly at night anyways

[@Drmcclung]

@@nunyabidness3075 HOU and IAH are definitely crazy-busy with commercial traffic 24/7/365. EFD is a popular spot, sometimes the only spot, for GA, almost any kind of aircraft maintenance shop you can imagine, elderly aircrafts, and specialty stuff, rarely commercial traffic (EFD is our singular big "all other traffic" airport, commercial would only divert there, in an emergency, only if there's enough clear runway and they can't limp it to HOU a few more miles in). Very-low chopper traffic in and around the downtown area however, this sub-700ft stuff, is a new thing, only since the pandemic. I don't think any helio rules changed regarding commercial traffic from the three, at least not that I've heard? Media and EMS choppers rarely ever fly below 1k in transit inside the beltway so in my mind that's the example all other heli's should probably follow now that there's been a fatal

[@antibrevity]

This prelim demonstrates why details matter so much. None of us initially knew that the pilot was actively in contact with ATC and possibly diverting to their left to avoid potential traffic to their right. Condolences again to all those affected. I thank Juan for explaining how easy, even inevitable, it is to forget about obstacles that you know very well are there. In fact, I've sometimes thought to myself that "I'm on a more efficient path this time" only to eventually remember why I don't normally take that path or positioning; hopefully before anything bad happens. When this pilot diverted to their left out of concern for traffic, the existence of this tower likely did not occur to her until hitting it :(. She needed to either maintain her prior path or divert fully around the tower further left, but was distracted enough by the traffic warning that she flew exactly where she couldn't. ATC is not at fault here, but the incident demonstrates why this was such a dangerous corridor for a night tour operation as there were very few layers of swiss cheese that needed to align for the accident to occur; this was not a safe tour to begin with unless extremely tight margins were enforced by instruments with fail-safes. All it took was a traffic warning to align the holes and allow the aircraft to fly directly into a tower. This was effectively a precision-guided flight path undertaken without the enforcement of precision guidance. This will probably result in the banning of similar tours, but they could be made safer with an appropriate level of instrumentation and training. Such flights paths can tolerate very little deviation.

[@igclapp]

The traffic was coming from her left. She was planning to make a left turn past the tower but probably delayed her turn because that would have put her on a head-on collision course with the other helicopter.

[@Kickinpony66]

@9:04... those white obstacle strobes certainly do get my attention. Thank you for the update.

[@ScottBrandt]

Those look like they are stuck in day mode in that video.

[@LaggerSVK]

really extreme brightness

[@Raptorman0909]

I really appreciate that you admitted to a similar error, you learn by your mistakes if you survive! Sadly, I think the ATC warning about the other helo was the distraction that tipped things in a bad way. I'm not blaming the controller, but a distraction at the wrong time can be and sometimes is ... fatal.

[@jeffpontius50]

You remind me of my flight instructor, very thorough. Within the first week of a new AIM update he has it completely outlined with blue, green and yellow outline markers. A straight A aviation authority for sure

[@U20E27]

Even if your a boat guy background lights on a shoreline can easily hide other vessel traffic or marked hazards. Same exact challenging issue with night time travel and lighting.

[@johningram9081]

Well stated. !

[@skittlesandfriends5710]

I always enjoy your videos, they are fact filled and done so that even non aviators can understand what you’re saying. I too was in the Air Force and worked on the flightline on a regular basis loading and unloading cargo planes, and we were always reminded to keep our heads on a swivel, and even though we might handle multiple aircrafts in a shift. Being distracted even for a moment could have serious if not fatal consequences. as this accident sadly shows.

[@mikeparker6322]

Been a pilot for 30 years and I have always planned my flights with or without passengers. This means examinig the route (VFR sectional) for obstacles.

[@edflaherty1887]

I was employed by a GE research center that had a water tower within a Class C airport that was about 2 miles away. I noticed that the tower lights were controlled by a timer. The facility was next to a river so in the morning after the lights were out and the tower was fogged in. I went to see my manager ( who was responsible for the water tower ) about this . His reply was - " what are you doing here, it has nothing to do with you. This was typical of the toxic culture around GE. Basically, if it wasn't his idea he didn't care and was more worried about getting into trouble than simply correcting the family.

[@asteverino8569]

Thanks again for your fact finding capabilities and your pilots point of view.

[@bobwilliamson5993]

Man, oh man is, this such vary sad news. Thanks Juan.

[@kirknewton100]

There but for the grace of god. Thank you for sharing your own near incident with us. Were all capable of making errors. Its so sad.

[@BrianHeimbaugh]

If you do an FCC ASR search for that tower registration number and then click on the "reference copy" link towards the top, it shows the painting and lighting requirements for that tower. aviation orange and white striped paint and Red Beacons are what it was required to have so that would be the A style of lighting from the FAA guide.

[@RetreadPhoto]

What registration number? Who would do this? Besides investigators or lawyers?

[@realulli]

Ever been out boating at night? If you're coming in to an anchorage in front of a village or a city, the anchor lights of the other boats are really hard to see. I think something similar was at play here, except that helo was going maybe 80 knots instead of the three you're be doing in an anchorage.

[@RetreadPhoto]

Nowhere near the same as boating.

[@realulli]

@@RetreadPhoto Obviously not the same. if you bump into another boat at three knots, you're dealing with an irate victim and at most an insurance claim. If you hit anything while flying, you're probably going to have a bad day, with a high likelihood of it being your last. But the visuals are comparable: just a few lights, disappearing in front of a sea of other lights. "That light is moving, is it a boat very close or is it just a car on the shore?" And remember, a light that is not moving is on a collision course... In that helicopter, even when focusing on obstacle avoidance, it was likely difficult to distinguish between a traffic/brake/whatever light on the ground and the beacons on the tower.

[@crapton9002]

A cascade of errors and unfortunate circumstances leading to a incident.. Condolences to their families.

[@NicolaW72]

Indeed - the authorization to perform low-altitude-flights during nighttime in this area with this obstacles was a recipe for a disaster waiting to happen. - Thank you very much for this debrief of the Preliminary Report!

[@bunglejoy3645]

​@@Plutogalaxy in the UK the only helicopters who can fly at night are the police helicopters I don't know about medevac flying at night in UK it search and rescue I suppose it depends on area

[@billfraser9731]

@@Plutogalaxy this wasnt high terrain

[@eamonnw]

@@bunglejoy3645 you sure about that? "What is a night rating? A night rating allows a pilot to fly at night exercising visual flight rules (VFR). If a pilot wishes to fly at night using instrument flight rules (IFR) they are also required to have an instrument rating. A night rating for helicopters can be endorsed on a LAPL or PPL, however, the applicant must hold at least a class 2 medical or have passed a colour sight test. (Further information on the medical requirements can be found in Med.A.030. All LAPL holders need to comply with MED.030/AMC14 MED.B.095.)"

[@davidkavanagh189]

​@@Plutogalaxy Yeah. So restrictive we don't have to needlessly die. Oh so terrible. Night VFR is daft. SVFR for emergency services is ok.

[@yowser8780]

@@billfraser9731 Think that the 1,000 ft tower... was a really (and I mean really) steep mountain.

[@flybobbie1449]

Bit like the heli accident in London some years ago. Think it was suggested pilot was trying to text customer to say diverting, but struck a crane on the side of a building. Distraction hit.

[@flybobbie1449]

Certainly around Birnigham UK, there are two lit masts and ATC always ask are you visual. They are lit at night but painted black, hard to see daytime. 1000 feet high.

[@greggyd321]

I was G Maps pilot in 49 states (c-206), and a gas pipeline pilot (c-208) for PG&E, both low level. We were ALWAYS aware of towers and wires. You're right however about distractions however. Sad story.

[@igclapp]

Just curious, what's a G Maps pilot?

[@jamesbarca7229]

My aunt died back in the 70s when my uncle's plane clipped a guy wire for a radio tower down in Texas. They were making a night landing at a small airport and just before touchdown the runway lights were turned off on them. He tried to do a go around but could barely see anything b/c his night vision was washed out by the runway lights. Before his eyes had a chance to adjust to the darkness again, he clipped the cable and crashed. My aunt died and my uncle lived but ended up in a wheelchair.

[@heinzriemann3213]

This is the third comment I've read now that says "guy wire". Shouldn't it be 'guide wire'?

[@jasonwhite1069]

@@heinzriemann3213 No. Towers are supported by guy wires. To save me a bit of typing, here's what Wiki says: Guy-wire: A guy-wire, guy-line, guy-rope, down guy, or stay, also called simply a guy, is a tensioned cable designed to add stability to a freestanding structure.

[@gordonrichardson2972]

@@heinzriemann3213 Google says guy wire comes from the French for guide, and has been used in English for 900 years.

[@heinzriemann3213]

@@gordonrichardson2972 Well that explains why I read it four times in this comment section. Thanks for enlightening a non-native-speaker.

[@howardnielsen6220]

Juan You’re always so sharp and you’re reporting really appreciate that thank you

[@markerickson4273]

Thank you Capt. Browne

[@cuz129]

You do such a great job of explaining the complexity behind this tragic accident.

[@Flintlock1776]

Great video. Tour helicopters (and Robinsons) scare the shit out of me and I fly low-level NVG for a living. Lot's of low-time pilots just trying to build hours in order to jump to the next job. I'm sure some companies do it quite well and I applaud them for it but the accident rate for this part of the industry is just way too high.

[@tywoodruff2218]

too

[@MeppyMan]

Low hour fresh commercial building up hours has always been a risky part of a pilots career. Less likely to speak up or know what to look out for risk wise. Throw in the Robbie and night flying in busy airspace, it sure does seem like a recipe for disaster. I was always a risk averse helicopter pilot, saw too many pilots, young and old, make stupid mistakes. Probably why I didn’t stick to flying… although a part of me regrets that now. The few times I’ve flown in tourist flights I get front seat and I work out quickly how experienced the pilot is. And never ever in a Robinson.

[@joso5554]

And FAA seems too complacent with these businesses. NTSB speaking in the desert…

[@gregjohnson2073]

What is wrong with Robinsons

[@HongyaMa]

@@gregjohnson2073 Nothing wrong with the helicopter. Low cost helicopters and lots of them. Fresh pilots and doing the same thing aviators have been doing for decades. (Learn from others don't repeat their mistakes.)

[@gerardmoran9560]

Like you Juan, I learned back in my USAF days that a successful low-level flight requires a thorough preflight route study. All potential hazards must be addressed- traffic, terrain, performance and obstacles.

[@the_bencredible]

Why not fly the tour 200’ higher? I can’t imagine the visibility for the customers would change that much.

[@johnp99550]

Class B airspace, not sure what the ceiling limit is though.

[@georgespalding7640]

Apparently, there are other towers nearby that are 2000 feet. A helicopter tour wants to fly low so people can see the details of the city. I don't think this tour thing is a good idea in these circumstances.

[@joso5554]

@@georgespalding7640Definitely not indeed.

[@georgespalding7640]

@@joso5554 When you're business only last two weeks before a major, fatal accident, maybe this wasn't a good idea.

[@Wargasm54]

Exactly the comment I made. A couple hundred feet wouldn’t kill the sightseeing experience. Maybe fly the lower altitudes during the daylight hours.

[@dominicdahlheimer6861]

Juan We can hear in your voice the concern you have for safety (and this accident) based on your experience back in your younger days in the canyon. Thank You for sharing your experiences and your expertise. There is also a controller involved who will long-remember his/her experience that evening when a "transmission abruptly ended".

[@ltmedic3]

As a flight paramedic for the past 20 years, riding in the co-pilot seat on every empty leg we always had eyes out. I am shocked that ATC did not confirm her awareness of the towers. We have an antenna farm just south of town and ATC always reminds us and confirms we know of the farm, every time we went south. Sad for everyone involved.

[@jsasser8191]

Foreflight usually warms you of things like this too.

[@mfcobb1]

Poor Flight Planning.

[@user-zp5vj2bl8o1]

It is strange that ATC did not receive or report an altitude alert that could have been passed on to the pilot.

[@chrisnoname2725]

This was a flight following a published route. ATC shouldn’t need to babysit pilots. That’s different to warning a pilot that might not be aware of hazards in a particular area or could be distracted.

[@igclapp]

That operator routinely flew right by that tower, as close as 500 feet laterally. So ATC didn't think it was unusual that they were getting close to it.

[@57appel]

Thanks for one of your most uncommon detailed explanations. Your many experiences allowed the various details.

[@Bill_N_ATX]

When I first saw the report of this accident that night and you could see that the aircraft had flown that route several times recently, I wondered what had distracted the pilot. I even wrote about it in a KZbin post that night and said we might not ever know what it was. Sadly, it seems it was the ATC warning her of another danger such that she didn’t see the one that got her and her three passengers. It only takes a moment of distraction sometimes, be it in an aircraft, boat, bike, or automobile, to kill you. A dropped cigarette has killed a bunch of folks.

[@HandyMan657]

Wow man.. That's rough to hear. Thanks, Juan, take care.

[@billnorblat4047]

This is why I tell people never to fly at night unless you have to. Tragedy. - Commercial Rotorcraft Pilot

[@crissd8283]

You can certainly fly at night. You just shouldn't be flying that low.

[@awboat]

@@crissd8283 Yeah, the Gary Larsen cartoon of the pilots looking at mountain goats come to mind ever single time I hear of something like this happening.

[@pimacanyon6208]

yeah, I don't get the allure. If it's a sightseeing tour, you're not going to see very much at night anyway, except for a bunch of lights!

[@hogey74]

Well said. I intend to get competent and qualified but to then only do it in singles to the extent required to maintain proficiency and improve skill over time.

[@hogey74]

​@@awboatand also being careful with that "wings stay on/ wings fall off" switch.

[@erichetherington9899]

Thanks Juan for bringing this hazard to light.

[@Nefville]

I feel bad for the controller on duty though to be clear, they were at NO fault. Just poor timing. Aviate, Navigate, Communicate, that's the order for a reason.

[@Member00101]

Is there really that much to see in Houston to go on a site seeing tour in a helicopter?

[@mattv5281]

Is there much else to do in Houston besides go on a helicopter tour?

[@Chris-bg8mk]

In a Robinson with a low time pilot!?!?! NOPE!!!!!

[@notalizardperson]

You can see the endless sea of houses and car dealerships.

[@AlbertHess-xy7ky]

Yes.

[@amylynncreaney2245]

I guess City site seeing is in the eye of the beholder. Compared to cities with iconic skylines, Houston seems pretty unimpressive to be worth a night site seeing flight.

[@miichaelhickey]

just a damn shame, thanks for the update

[@scooter433]

Brother, I love listening to your explanations. You do a great job. Thank you!

[@bobwilliamson5993]

Never had a chance with the distractions.

[@heinzriemann3213]

BS

[@wjatube]

A night time helio-tour of Houston was not something I had on my to-do list.

[@nooneyouknow9399]

The bright strobes on the one tower look like they are stuck in daytime mode. Possibly that also has a NOTAM.

[@chriscrist911]

Always appreciate your view on all these instances. You really do a great job putting this into laymans terms.

[@invertedflights]

I like wings and altitude.

[@sammyday3341]

Thank God, you set your alert. Very smart.

[@mbvoelker8448]

Thank you so much for raising awareness about the causes of these incidents and the complex factors involved.

[@josephroberts6865]

Great report Juan and especially your testimony concerning low altitude night operations. You are very correct about tower lights blending in with ground cultural lights. The high intensity white strobes should be mandatory for all towers over 1000 feet tall.

[@michaelcollins6387]

What's unsettling is that at 10:53 on the video, you can see the tower briefly illuminated by the lights on the nose of the helo right before impact. No doubt she was either looking down or off the the side. Had she been eyes forward, she likely would've seen it in time.

[@Hugocraft]

The other item to call out when talking about towers is the guide wires that support them. Just because you avoid the tower, you can still hit the guide wires if that tower has them

[@d.t.4523]

Thanks for the report Juan.

[@davewitter6565]

I often see the white daylight strobes, from a 5 mile distance on the 977' Sutro Tower. The tower is located on a hill near the middle of the San Francisco Peninsula. When you add the hill and the tower together you come up with a 1,811 MSL obstruction. Fog can also be a limiting factor.

[@cincyrecycle7077]

10:55 looks like the helicopter forward facing light illuminated the tower right before impact.

[@alexissuazo3122]

Thanks for your reporting on this accident.

[@celestialfix]

No one does these accident analyses as effectively as Juan…..he should get an award from the FAA.

[@mikemontagne2703]

It appears that just prior to impact, the landing light briefly illuminated the tower.

[@RetreadPhoto]

Which has zero impact, meaning, or difference.

[@ohsweetmystery]

@@RetreadPhotoIt means they all knew what was about to happen to them before they crashed and died.

[@harlont]

Every time there is an aviation incident I come straight to this channel to see Jaun's take on it. The best on YT, in my opinion. I'm not far from Houston so this hit close to home. Heartbreaking. I still have no idea how they can be given approval for an altitude that's less than the height of the towers in the area. Makes zero sense to me. What difference would an additional 300 feet have made to the passengers sightseeing? Besides landing safely, that is.

[@MrKen59]

Night flying is really hard - especially at low altitude. Even in open space, the ground looks like the sky, not to mention your eyes can miss objects because of the lights. Things in the air do not look like what we are use to seeing on the ground.

[@rooh5825]

Such a bad accident, thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery for those involved!

[@Justvisiting498]

Speedy recovery? Do you mean body recovery? there's no hurry or "speedy" recovery needed.

[@johnwoodall3791]

Thankyou Captain , Been Busy , Had a Few Flights due to Staff Down... Lots of Offshore Long Distance Work to LHR etc.... Thankyou for the Report... Back onto LAx in December... Cheers...

[@jiml5837]

Makes me wonder how many times one of these tour copters narrowly missed a tower and it went unnoticed?

[@km6341]

Juan, I lived in Kingwood, Tx., north east of GB International Airport for 15 years. I had the pleasure of taking a holiday night excursion on one of the Goodyear blimps that was based in Spring, Tx. at that time. I don’t recall the exact location but as we cruised near The Woodlands development the pilot suddenly revved the engines and we quickly deviated upward and to the right of the straight path we were taking. The passengers and I were surprised how hard we were pressed into our seats and how abruptly we gained altitude! The pilot made a lighthearted apology for the maneuver, “ something about keeping us awake during our very smooth ride”! I was told later it was likely due to an obstruction or unexpected aircraft, though none of us saw anything. I have to think now that even at the relatively slow speed we were traveling, it could happen an aircraft that size. Thank you for your updates.

[@michaelhaley6888]

I flew into IAH about a month ago and was in awe at the sea of lights of the city, very bright

[@norcalengineer]

I believe high-intensity white lights are only allowed during daylight hours. The tower in the example video is likely not compliant as it should only be red flashing at night as the bright strobes are considered a nuisance.

[@tannercayenne]

No excuses. Operations like this need strict GPS navigation on safe routes and no traffic conflicts, especially with your own company.

[@HongyaMa]

nope, Just adding to the distractions

[@RetreadPhoto]

It wasn’t the own company. Both flying out of separate airports. One SE, one NW.

[@matthewheinze1231]

Juan thanks for covering this.

[@jersey8231]

You seem to be fixated too much on the tower lights in this accident. To me the NTSB mentions of the tower lights seem to be downplaying the role of the lights on the tower in the accident and were just mentioning it to show they investigated it. It states that the top 2 beacons were functional in the videos they looked at and that the reason a NOTAM was filed was due to a change in ownership of the tower. The tower had 3 beacons and it isn't clear from the report whether the lower beacon at 340' was operational or not at the time of the accident but it was noted the only other 2 lights that the tower has: the one at the top and the other at 639' were properly working and that the helicopter struck in between the top two lights. The preliminary investigation seems to focus more on the pilot and that she was in communications at the time of the accident with tower in regard to ADS-B traffic and was told to stay clear of that other helicopter she was seeing. So obviously she was distracted but didn't have good situational awareness and had a poor knowledge of the area (and poor flight plan) to be that close to the tower to begin with. There were other towers behind the one she hit so you can keep focusing on the tower and blame the stationary object that's been there for decades and shows up on the charts all you want but that obviously isn't going to be the focus of the investigation.

[@DaveG-qd6ug]

THIS

[@gobs379]

Yeah, new company with new routes and new pilots flying low level at night around towers.... there's a lot more pressing factors contributing to the accident.

[@heinzriemann3213]

Juan has a tendency of defensiveness about female pilots.

[@philmaryamoore9251]

Thank you very much, and many thanks to the other responders below!

[@vernicethompson4825]

That's such a tragic accident. Thank you for covering it. I have often wondered about those tower lights and how well they work for collision avoidance, so thanks for explaining that. As for why the tour operator may have gotten approval for their flights, it is always possible that the operator pulled some springs with the politicians to get the approval. It is not unusual for a startup business to be given some benefit of the doubt if they are doing something new, and the owner(s) often go to great lengths to get that approval. Business owners have a tendency to dislike regulations and the regulatory process, even if it is intended to save them money in the long term by preventing costly tragedies such as this one (and the Titan submersible). Businesses are trying to make a profit, and that may mean cutting costs deemed less important. They may act "penny wise and pound foolish" until it is too late. Also in question in this case is why did ATC consider it necessary to inform the helicopter pilot about traffic that the pilot should have known about if both copters belonged to the same operator? Didn't the operator keep its pilots informed about the activities of its other aircraft? It doesn't seem to me that the pilot bears full responsibility if distracted by something beyond the pilot's real need to know. I agree with you that the lawyers will keep this case tied up for years, because of all these issues that were raised. Great video as always!

[@carlospedro4184]

Hello Juan. I’m a retired 777 captain and a subscriber to your channel. Just wanted to mention that I enjoy your articles. In regards to this particular accident I wanted to ask you if on the crash video were you able to see the external light of the helicopter shining on the tower as it approached it..? Unfortunately it was traveling at a speed that would have made an avoidable maneuver quite impossible considering there were also tension wires around. I know it’s possible, as you mention, to loose track of obstacle locations but I would expect that the tour operators have a specific plan with details when they plan for flights like these and they have to become the SOP of the operation. On another front, I would like to exchange ideas about the Singapore air severe turbulence encounter a few months ago because I, along with many others, are seeing these patterns of incidents that are not getting the correct exposure and clarification to create viable and effective procedures of avoidance which should start at training and Dispatch departments. Thank you and keep up the good work.

[@fgaviator]

8:46 The FAA "Style F" says at the top, white lights are for day and twighlight protection only. Red lights are for night time. So "style F" has advantages - but for the day and twighlight period only. The requirement for the red "night lights" is exactly the same for all styles: each specifies a brightness of "2000cd" for the red lights at night. At least that's how I read these specs (shown on the top of each page as shown in the video).

[@Knee-ko]

Sobering video Juan. Appreciate the personal perspective. 👍👍

[@graham3282]

Very Sad ~ Brlliant as always , thank you ..

[@CycleWerkz]

At time 9:10 in your example of white strobe lights. Please note, the very bright tower in this example is actually a failure. These strobe lights are supposed to switch to low intensity at night, then high intensity during the daytime. This one is operating incorrectly in daytime mode, so should have a NOTAM. Both types of lights use Fresnel lenses which focus the light to the horizon. So from from the ground, or from above, it is much less bright than from a pilots perspective if on collision course. From the video it is clear she was at the altitude very well within the lens focal range, so it would appear very bright in the cockpit. The orange and white stripes are intended to provide daytime visibility, the beacons nighttime. When the paint fades below specifications, the repaint job is very expensive. Paint is not required if using strobes, so often this is the moment towers switch from beacons to strobes. The pilot was also on course to intercept the radio towers a bit further along. They were all fully lit, and fully in view. Course correction to avoid those should have been taken near the tower hit.