Dramatic moment: A helicopter crashed to the ground in Dallas after its tail rotor broke off mid-air, causing a fiery crash that killed two people on board.
- WARNING: DISGUSTING IMAGES
- Two people died in a helicopter crash Friday morning on the outskirts of Dallas.
- The video shows the helicopter’s tail rotor falling to the ground after breaking up in the air.
- The helicopter landed in a wasteland, there were no casualties on the ground
- But the pilot and one other person on board did not survive the fiery crash.
Two people died Friday when a helicopter crashed mid-air near Dallas and crashed to the ground in flames.
The helicopter crashed around 11:30 a.m. into a vacant lot on a busy commercial strip along Texas 66 in Rowlett, killing the pilot and one other person on board, but no one was injured on the ground.
As the doomed helicopter crashed in a busy area during a lunch break, there were multiple witnesses and the video shows the plane’s tail rotor falling to the ground separately from the hull.
Police said both victims were adults and unrelated to each other, but their identities were not released until their families were notified.
This eyewitness video shows the hull (right) and tail rotor (left) falling to the ground separately and will be valuable to NTSB and FAA officials investigating the accident.
The helicopter crashed around 11:30 a.m. into a vacant lot on a busy commercial strip along Texas 66 in Rowlett, killing the pilot and another person on board.
Eyewitnesses tried to help, but the fire raging among the rubble made any rescue attempt impossible.
The helicopter belonged to Sky Helicopters in Garland and was on a training flight, according to KDFW-TV.
The private company offers Dallas helicopter tours, flight training, and contracts with several local television stations for aerial news coverage.
Sky Helicopters did not immediately respond to a request from on Friday afternoon.
FAA records show the helicopter was a 2016 Robinson R-44 Rotorcraft, which sells for around $475,000.
The R-44 is the best-selling civilian helicopter in the world, but has a long history of fatal accidents, according to a 2018 Los Angeles Times investigation. Robinson Helicopter, a private company, disputed these findings.
The body of the helicopter that crashed on Friday landed in an empty field surrounded by several businesses, while the tail section landed on a nearby storage facility.
The main part landed in a wasteland, nearly hitting nearby businesses.
Witnesses reported seeing the helicopter’s tail rotor break in mid-air, causing the aircraft to spin uncontrollably before it crashed and caught fire.
“I heard an explosion and a few seconds later I saw the helicopter hit the ground. I jumped out, he was already in the fireball, I jumped out and tried to get him out, but it was too late,” Philip Herndon told the local Fox affiliate.
Other bystanders tried to help, but the fire raging among the rubble made any rescue attempt impossible.
“You could see people coming in, you could see them retreating in defense of themselves because it was so hot,” John Wrangle told the station.
“Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do to save them.”
Witnesses said they saw the helicopter’s tail rotor break in mid-air, causing the plane to spin out of control before it crashed and caught fire, police detective Rowletta Cruz Hernandez said.
The FAA interviewed witnesses Friday afternoon, and NTSB investigators are due to arrive early Saturday morning to assess the damage.
No one else was reportedly injured in the crash.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
The FAA interviewed witnesses Friday afternoon, and NTSB investigators are due to arrive early Saturday morning to assess the damage.
The Dallas County Medical Examiner removed the remains of the two victims from the charred wreckage.
The investigation is ongoing.