Pilot and Photographer Die When Channel 13's Copter Crashes on the Job

By Renee C. Lee and David Barron
Houston Chronicle
October 14, 2008

The National Transportation Safety Board has sent an investigator from Denver who will be assisted by Federal Aviation Administration officials, a spokesman for the safety board said.

The crash site, in a wooded area about 200 feet off Peoples Road near Pine Acres Road in southwest Montgomery County, has been cordoned off for the investigators. The helicopter went down shortly after 11 a.m. Monday.

The pilot, John Downhower, and the photographer, David Garrett, were employed by contractors who provide services to KTRK, an ABC affiliate. Downhower worked for Helicopters Inc., which owns the Bell 206L-4 helicopter. Garrett worked for Metro News.

The chief pilot, the director of maintenance and the general manager for Helicopters Inc., based in St. Louis, all arrived in Houston Monday afternoon and went to the crash scene, company officials said.

Downhower and Garrett were en route to cover a shooting about four miles west of the crash site, near Magnolia, said Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Kenneth Hiebert.

Hiebert said it appeared the aircraft came down at a steep angle, hit the ground and bounced into the trees. The impact shattered the helicopter, he said, and both men were ejected.

The helicopter left Hobby Airport at 10:40 a.m., and the station said it lost contact with Downhower about 11:15 a.m. No distress call was recorded, the station said.

The station aired the final seconds of video it received from the helicopter. The video showed the aircraft banking to the right before the screen went black.

"All of us at KTRK-TV are deeply saddened by the tragic accident involving SkyEye 13, and our hearts go out to the families of the pilot and photographer," station spokesman Tom Ash said in a statement.

'Our eyes and ears'
Downhower, 43, of Conroe, had been flying for years and was dual rated, meaning he was licensed to fly airplanes and helicopters, according to Channel 13. He was married with children.

Garrett, 36, had a 4-year-old son, the station reported.

"Dave was our eyes and ears from the sky," said KTRK anchor Ilona Carson during Monday's 5 p.m. newscast. ''He talked us through some of the biggest stories this city has ever seen.

"We could throw chaotic breaking news situations at these gentlemen, and somehow they were able to make sense of it and explain it to all of us in an understandable way that we could all comprehend," Carson said.

The shooting that Downhower and Garrett were covering involved a man who led Montgomery County sheriff's officials on a chase near Magnolia. The man was fatally shot after he tried to evade a roadblock and fired at the deputies, officials said.

Three passengers in the man's car were injured and taken to hospitals, officials said. No authorities were hurt, the Sheriff's Office said. The man killed was a wanted felon, officials said.

'Massive explosion'
Harold Robinson, who lives about 400 yards from the helicopter crash site, said he was in his backyard cleaning up Hurricane Ike debris when it crashed.

"I heard the helicopter, and I heard it when it hit the ground," said Robinson, who has lived on Peoples Road for about 35 years. "I heard a massive explosion."

He said he headed for the crash site in his four-wheeler but did not get close.

"I didn't see anything but smoke, a lot of black smoke," Robinson said.

"As soon as I heard it, I knew it killed everybody in it," he added. "People don't survive that kind of stuff."

The helicopter was built in 1993, said Helicopters Inc. spokeswoman Seva Kaiser. FAA records show the aircraft got its most recent airworthiness certificate in March 1997.

"We at Helicopters Inc. are deeply saddened by this tragic event in which we have lost two members of our family," Kaiser said in a statement.

Helicopter Inc., founded in 1978, leases aircraft to about 70 news organizations in the country. In Houston, it also leases helicopters to KPRC (Channel 2) and to Metro News, which is owned by Westwood One.

The Bell 206L-4, also known as the Long Ranger, is a single-engine helicopter that's been around since the 1960s, according to Ladd Sanger, a helicopter pilot and aviation attorney, who has handled accidents involving the Bell 206L-4. The aircraft is commonly used for news gathering, he said.

RECENT NEWS COPTER CRASHES

• July 2007: A helicopter flying for Dallas Fox affiliate KDFW made an emergency landing near Grand Prairie, injuring two reporters and the pilot.

• July 2007: Two news helicopters collided mid-air in Phoenix while covering a police chase. Four people died.

• May 2004: A news helicopter covering a triple shooting crashed onto a roof in Brooklyn, N.Y. No serious injuries were reported.

• May 2001: The pilot of a KHOU (Channel 11) news helicopter crashed while trying to land on the station's roof. He was not injured.

• April 2001: A KTRK (Channel 13) helicopter lost power but landed safely in Montgomery County while covering a school bus accident. No one was injured.

• November 2000: KRIV-TV's SkyFOX went down in Houston's River Oaks community, killing pilot Donald Sumner.

• March 2000: A news helicopter covering a train derailment crashed in suburban Miami, killing a photographer and a pilot.