KTRK-TV'S Chopper Crashes; Two Dead
HOUSTON, TX (October 13, 2008) – KTRK-TV ABC 13 News says their SkyEye HD helicopter crashed this morning enroute to a breaking news story, and that the contractor pilot and photographer on board were both killed.
The two men were identified as pilot John Downhower, 43, and photographer Dave Garrett, 36.
Lt. Dan Norris from the Montgomery County (TX) Sheriffs Department confirmed that the two people in the helicopter were killed in the crash, but that no one on the ground was injured in the mishap.
Police said the helicopter went down shortly after 11 a.m. CST and crashed into a heavily wooded area in remote Montgomery County, north of Houston but south of Conroe, TX, near Peoples Road and adjacent to the W.G. Jones State Forest.
Witnesses described a "terrible," very large explosion with smoke going 200 to 300 feet into the air. Scenes of the crash site shot from another news helicopter showed smoke billowing into the air and fragments of the burned helicopter.
The station said they lost contact with the aircraft around 11:15 a.m., and that there is no word on what caused the crash.
KTRK-TV later aired the last footage received from the helicopter. The final seconds of video showed that the aircraft banked sharply to the right before the screen went to black.
Aerial scenes of the crash site showed a totally destroyed and burning helicopter.
The helicopter "came down at a sharp angle, hit the ground an bounced up into the trees," Sgt. Kenneth Hiebert of the Texas Department of Public Safety said. Hiebert told the Houston Chronicle that the helicopter's fuselage was shattered by the impact and that both victims were ejected from the aircraft.
KTRK-TV's helicopter was one of several Houston-area news helicopters that were covering a police chase that ended in Magnolia, TX, when a Mustang with three people in it that police were pursuing struck a pick-up truck at the intersection of Texas roads FM 2978 and FM 1488.
Gunfire was exchanged after the auto crash, Montgomery County sheriffs deputies said, and at least one person was fatally shot.
Police have not said who was killed in the shoot-out.
Officials said the helicopter crashed about four miles away from the news scene. The helicopter went down about 200 feet off Peoples Road near Pine Acres Road, west of Interstate 45 in the W.G. Jones State Forest, about one mile south of FM 1488.
The National Transportation Safety Board will now conduct an investigation into what caused the helicopter to crash.
The helicopter was a Bell 206-L4 leased from Helicopters Inc., a company based in St. Louis, MO, that provides helicopters, pilots, and photographers to news organizations. PIlot Downhower worked for Helicopters Inc., and photographer Garrett worked for Metro News.
According to aircraft records the helicopter that crashed today was built in 1993 and seated up to 7. The single-engine helicopter was powered by an Allison 250-C28 turbo-shaft engine. SkyEye 13's helicopter was the first HD chopper camera to go operational in Texas in November, 2006.
UPDATE: A memorial service for Downhower is planned for Friday, October 17, at 11 a.m. CST at the Fellowship of the Woodlands in Woodlands, TX.
A funeral for Garrett is planned for Saturday October 18, at 11 a.m. CST, at the River Pointe Community Church at 5000 Ransom Road in Richmond, TX.
An education fund has been established for Garrett's young son. Contributions can be made to the Adam Ryan Garrett Educaitonal Fund, P.O. Box 1811, Sugar Land, TX, 77478-1811.
For Downhower’s son contributions to the Mitchell Downhower College Fund can be made at any Wells Fargo bank branch.
