A helicopter that crashed and killed a pilot and a photographer was under investigation by federal transportation officials. They were expected to arrive to Montgomery County today to check the causes because of which the helicopter crashed and killed the pilot and the photographer who were in a mission for Huston TV station KTRK (Channel 13).

 An investigator from Denver and officials from Federal Aviation Administration were sent at the scene by the National Transportation Safety Board to track down the reasons for which the aircraft went down on Monday at 11 a.m. The helicopter crashed into a wooded area at about 200 feet Peoples Road near Pine Acres Road in Montgomery County.

 John Downhower, the pilot, and David Garrett, the photographer, were hired by the ABC affiliate while the pilot also worked for Helicopters Inc. and the photographer for Metro News. Helicopters Inc. also owned the Bell 206L-4 helicopter. The chief pilot, the director of maintenance and the general manager for Helicopters Inc. arrived in Huston on Monday afternoon. The company’s main building is in St. Louis.

Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Kenneth Hiebert said that Garrett and Downhower were sent by Channel 13 in a mission to investigate a shooting at about four miles west of the crash scene, near Magnolia. The helicopter seemed to go down at a steep angle. It then hit the ground and crashed into the trees.

The Bell 206L-4 left Hobby Airport at 10:40 a.m. and lost contact with the station at about 11:15 a.m. The station then released a video showing how the helicopter was banking to the right before the screen went black.

The helicopter was built in 1996, according to Seva Kaiser, spokeswoman for Helicopters Inc.