Helicopter crash in Texas leaves 2 dead, including the pilot (PHOTOS)

Two people died in a burning helicopter crash near Dallas, Texas.

The victims were the only people on board.

The helicopter crashed around 11:30 a.m. Friday in a vacant lot on a commercial strip off Texas 66 in Rowlett.

Two people aboard a helicopter died on Friday after the aircraft crashed and burned near Dallas, according to The Associated Press.

The victims were the only people on board, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed. However, they have not yet released their names, The New York Post reported.

How did the deadly accident happen?

Photo: Twitter

The Robinson R44 model helicopter crashed into a vacant lot surrounded by businesses in Rowland around 11:30 a.m., the Dallas television station WFAA reported.

Witnesses reported seeing the helicopter’s tail rotor break in mid-air, sending the plane into an uncontrollable spin before crashing and bursting into flames, Rowlett Police Detective Cruz Hernandez said. No one else was reported as injured. Filed under: Dallas helicopter crash.

Impressive video shows the exact moment of impact

Photo: Twitter

Images published by the New York Post that were recorded by a cell phone showed the white helicopter spinning out of control in free fall from the sky. The aircraft is shown trying to regain its balance, but then the helicopter falls and is lost from sight in the video.

«Jesus Christ!» you can hear someone exclaiming in the video. Another home security video that was posted on social media showed the exact moment the helicopter crashed to the ground and immediately burst into flames. To see the video, click here. Filed under: Dallas helicopter crash.

Witness recounts how he witnessed the incident

Photo: YouTube

Other pictures taken by news media showed the plane in flames on the ground. Police and firefighters then surrounded the helicopter crash site and pitched a tent.

Joseph Kasper, a person who witnessed the fatal accident told WFAA that the helicopter went down about 40 feet away from where he was working. The witness stated that he saw a blade appear to break in mid-air as the helicopter turned, causing it to nosedive.

What caused the accident?

Photo: Shutterstock

«I saw the helicopter go down,» Fabio Sanches Jelezoglo told WFAA. «I heard a noise and when I looked up the helicopter was going down and the tail was broken,» Sanches reported. Rowland is located about 120 miles northwest of Dallas near the Oklahoma border.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Board are conducting an investigation into the accident and indicated that at the moment the cause is not clear. The Robinson R44 model of helicopters has a bad reputation for fatal accidents.