The Houston FM tower involved in Sunday night’s fatal helicopter crash was sold only weeks before its destruction, FCC documents reveal. The tower, which carries multiple signals from TelevisaUnivision, was sold by the Spanish-language broadcaster in September.
The 997-foot tower was purchased by SBA Communications on September 6 in a $150 million deal involving a portfolio of real assets. The sale was briefly mentioned in TelevisaUnivision’s Q3 2024 earnings report, though the incident was not. The transfer of ownership was received by the FCC on October 10, only ten days before the accident.
The FCC had been notified of tower lighting issues as recently as October 17, raising safety concerns about whether the lights were functional at the time of the crash.
In a release, SBA Communications commented, “Questions have been raised regarding the filing of a NOTAM for the cell tower in Houston. We would like to provide a clear perspective of what this entails. NOTAMs (Notice to Air Missions) with the FAA are to inform pilots of work notices, potential hazards, or changes that may impact their flight. These types of notifications are to provide pilots information and direction to be cautious of a specific location and may be filed for a variety of reasons.”
“As part of our standard process for newly acquired sites, SBA ensured a NOTAM 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.”
Local authorities, the FAA, and the FCC are also investigating the cause of the crash.
SBA stated, “As this is an ongoing investigation led by federal officials, we are limited in the information we can disclose at this time. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available…This is a tragic incident, and we ask everyone to please keep the deceased and their families in their thoughts and prayers.”
