HOUSTON – The communications tower that went down in Sunday night’s fiery Houston helicopter crash was initially built in 1987, Federal Communications Commission records show.
The nearly 1,000-foot tower, previously owned by Univision, was sold in September to Florida-based SBA Communications along with several other towers, a senior Univision spokesperson said.
“We are in the process of cooperating with authorities on a full investigation. This is a tragic incident, and we ask everyone to please keep the deceased and their families in their thoughts and prayers,” a SBA Communications spokesperson wrote in an email to KPRC 2.
SBA has not confirmed whether the lights on the tower were fully functional at the time of the crash that killed four people, but a notice had been filed with the FAA.
A spokesperson for SBA tells KPRC 2 as part of the standard process for newly-acquired sites, “SBA ensured a NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions) was in place for this site in order to exercise caution during the change of ownership while we integrate the site into our Network Operations Center (NOC) for continuous 24/7 monitoring pursuant to FAA and FCC regulations.”
NOTAMs are meant to inform pilots of anything that may impact their flight, including work notices or potential hazards.
The SBA spokesperson declined to provide additional details, citing an ongoing federal investigation.
Records filed with the FCC show the federal agency was made aware of the ownership change on Oct. 10, about 10 days before the crash.
The NOTAM was filed with the FAA on Oct. 17, just days before the crash, agency records show. It was set to be in effect until Oct. 31.
According to SBA’s website, the company “is a leading independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure, including towers, buildings, rooftops, distributed antenna systems (DAS) and small cells.”