Three killed, KEDT tower damaged in Texas copter crash
A Navy helicopter on a routine training operation crashed near the broadcast tower of KEDT near Corpus Christi, Texas, Jan. 16 [2008], temporarily knocking the station’s TV broadcast off the air. Three crew members died in the fiery accident. A fourth was taken to a nearby hospital and was in critical condition, according to AP. The Navy is investigating the crash.
Don Dunlap, WEDT’s g.m., said the helicopter, an MH-53E Sea Dragon, crashed into the station’s broadcast tower. Dunlap visited the tower site about 11 miles southeast of Corpus Christi and saw that the tower’s top beacon had fallen to the ground. The station’s analog TV antenna had the top spot on the 971-foot tower. KEDT’s FM antenna, lower on the tower, appeared to escape harm.
The crash site was blanketed in dense fog on the night of the accident, and barely recognizable remains of the aircraft were strewn across the muddy field, Dunlap said.
KEDT-TV went off the air the night of the crash and signed on again at low power the following morning. A tower crew was slated to inspect the damage Friday evening, Dunlap said.
Web page posted Jan. 21, 2008
Copyright 2008 by Current Publishing Committee
