A longtime heli-reporter for ABC's Houston affiliate is flying off into the sunset after 17 years.

ABC13's Tammy Rose detailed her decision to step down as the station's daily helicopter reporter on Sunday.

She expressed a desire to instead pursue independent journalism. 

'Our industry is changing,' she told fans on social media. 'More journalists are becoming independent, giving them the freedom to go behind the headlines, ask difficult questions and take the time to uncover the full story. 

'That is the kind of journalism I want to do for you.

'To make that possible, I have made the difficult decision to retire from daily helicopter reporting.'

Her last day, she wrote, will be on October 2.

Attached for fans was a photo of Rose in her faithful helicopter and a nighttime shot of the Houston skyline taken from her perspective.

'But I am not retiring from journalism - or completely giving up aerial reporting,' the caption continued.

Rose revealed how her superiors were letting her continue to work 'part time' on assignments located outside of Houston.

The reporter also confirmed she would continue posting 'true crime, aviation and investigative' content on her eponymous YouTube channel and website, Tammy Rose Reports. 

'I’ll travel to find the stories that matter to you - sometimes from the air and sometimes on the ground,' she promised.

Rose also detailed plans to press forward on her 'fourth book' after releasing a historical fiction aviation novel set in the 1930s a few weeks ago.

'Just as I did with “When Two Worlds Collide During WWII,” I’m ready to tell stories in a new way and give them the time they deserve,' she said of the effort.

'I hope you’ll turn the page with me and join me for this next chapter.'

Rose joined ABC13 after more than a decade of helicopter reporting elsewhere across the country, in Texas, Arizona and even Wisconsin.

In her post, Rose complained about her workload having 'doubled' over the past year.

Her exit comes at a difficult time for local-level TV, where stations are cutting back to deal with declining ad revenue and the decreasing impact of linear TV amid cord-cutting and  streaming.     

Stations in Houston and across the country have responded with layoffs. Houston is one of the biggest local news markets in the country.  

Full-time local TV news employment fell for the first time in more than a decade at the end of last year, a recent survey from the Radio Television Digital News Association and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University found.