NTSB report states pilot was communicating with air traffic control before hitting radio tower

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) states that the pilot in the deadly helicopter crash on Oct. 20 was relaying instructions related to a traffic advisory when it collided with a radio tower in Houston's Second Ward.

According to the Houston Fire Department, the helicopter hit a radio tower at Engelke and Ennis at about 7:54 p.m. that night.

Family members of the victims said Julio "Cesar" Lerma was taking his son Dylon and his son's mom, Marie Alonso, on a helicopter tour operated by National Helicopter Solutions when the chopper crashed into a transmission tower just before 8 p.m. that day.

The three, along with the pilot, were killed.

Now, more than a week after the crash, the NTSB has released a preliminary report of the incident.

In the report, it states, "The pilot established communications with the local air traffic controller and requested the 'downtown loop.'"

According to the report, minutes later, the controller issued a traffic advisory for a helicopter from a different company tour. At that, the pilot acknowledged the traffic in sight.

"The controller requested the accident pilot to maintain visual separation from the traffic, and the pilot was reading the instructions when the radio transmission abruptly ended," the report states.

After that, no other communication was transmitted.

Eyewitness News spoke with longtime pilot Dave Allen about this report. Based on these facts, he believes the pilot was potentially distracted between looking for the other helicopter, communicating with air traffic control, and flying the helicopter.

He explains that pilots are trained to do all of that at once, but even the most experienced pilots can experience information overload, which can lead to human error.

As a result of the impact, there was an explosion, causing the helicopter to fall to the ground and the tower to collapse on top, prompting a fire.

Among the growing concerns regarding the crash was the fact that the tower's lights may not have been on, but NTSB's report states, "The tower was equipped with flashing light beacons at 1,000 ft, 639 ft, and 340 ft from the surface. A surveillance video showed the tower's top and middle beacons flashing."

However, it's not clear yet if the lowest level of the tower's lights were on.

"According to the radio tower owner, the NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) was issued due to the recent change in ownership, and there were no outages with the tower flashing beacons," the report adds.

Additionally, the report says the the helicopter hit the tower about 100 feet from the top of the 1,003 foot tower.

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