The skies no longer seem that safe anymore yet, one Dallas, Texas-based CEO must be counting his lucky stars at the moment!
Steve Houghton, a businessman and CEO walked away – yes he literally walked away – from a helicopter crash after the aircraft plunged into a lake. Talk about a lucky man!
Houghton is in the hospital receiving treatment for his injuries and probably, praying to whatever God or deity he worships for the assist.
So What Happened?
Two influential businessmen, both alums of the Utah-based Christian (Mormon really) University Brigham Young, were on a helicopter ride, hanging out as old buddies. One was flying, the other was just along for the ride. Neither could know that would be the last time they saw each other.
The pilot was Bradford Brown, the CEO of a medical device company out of Utah. He was a licensed pilot with over 4,200 of flight time logged. Alongside him was his buddy Steve.
Things went wrong when they were flying over the Ririe Reservoir, which is frozen this time of year. Side note – the reservoir was created in the 70’s when the Army Corps of Engineers dammed the Willow Creek River. No one knows what went wrong (yet) but the helicopter crashed into the frozen lake.
It has been confirmed that Brown died on impact. Badazz Houghton walked away from the crash and was later found and transported to hospital. Right now, little is known about his condition, though.
This crash is just the latest in a long line of crashes that have hit aviation since we entered 2025. The world has become a sh*tshow for the past few years, do we really need aircraft randomly falling out of the sky to add to our woes? Let’s get our act together, people! And by people I mean those in charge of ensuring planes, choppers and what have you actually work the way they’re supposed to work – remaining in the sky and landing safely!
What do we know about the crashees?
As mentioned, both are former Brigham Young University graduates.
They both went on to become successful entrepreneurs. Brown was CEO of ATL Technology, a medical device manufacturer that he’s been running since 1993. He also sits on the board of BioUtah. Brown was married with six kids.
The survivee, Houghton was CEO and Chairman of Houghton Capital, a real estate and investment firm based in Dallas, Texas. He is married with five kids.
As currently, Houghton’s condition remains unknown, one can only hope and pray for the best for him and his family. And condolences to the family of Brown, it was so tragic what happened!
