An investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board has begun, with officials holding off on revealing detailed information on the crash, such as the identity of the pilot.
The helicopter took off at 11:13 a.m. local time before travelling west, however, shortly after take-off the chopper appeared to encounter problems and crashed.
A video of the helicopter caught on a doorbell camera appears to show it spinning out of control before hitting the ground with a distinct thud. The helicopter then caught fire with the pilot reportedly inside.
"We seen the helicopter going real slow and my wife says man that doesn't look right", witness Scott Ussery said. "It started swinging a little bit and going down lower and it started going out of control".
Two eyewitnesses, including Joseph Kasper who was working at a mechanic shop when the helicopter crashed about 40 feet from his business, reported seeing the tail rotor appear to break off mid-flight.
According to 5NBC the tail rotor landed on a nearby building.
"We saw smoke and we tried to help", eyewitness Andrew Reyna said. "We tried to grab some fire extinguishers but it was too dangerous. We couldn't get too close because of heat and the blaze".
Firefighters surrounded the crash site with a tarp to protect debris from being blown onto a nearby roadway.
The helicopter is reportedly owned by Sky Helicopters in Garland, Texas. The company told Fox4 that this was a training flight.
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