Date: 1/5/2009
HOUMA, La. (AP) — Authorities planned to search a southern Louisiana marsh by boat Monday for clues that might determine the cause of a helicopter crash that killed eight people bound for an offshore oil platform.
The helicopter, operated by PHI Inc., crashed Sunday afternoon shortly after taking off in southern Louisiana, said Richard Rovinelli, a company spokesman. Two pilots and seven passengers were aboard when the helicopter went down near Houma, about 100 miles southwest of New Orleans.
The identities of the victims were not released.
Ted Lopatkiewicz, spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, said the plane is believed to have crashed about seven minutes after it took off. Lopatkiewicz said there were scattered clouds and visibility was 10 miles at the time of the crash, and the crew reported no problems before the helicopter went down.
The helicopter, a Sikorsky S-76C, would have had a voice recorder aboard and possibly a flight data recorder, Lopatkiewicz said. NTSB investigators will be on the lookout for evidence as they inspect the wreckage later Monday.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Jaclyn Young said the lone survivor was transported to a medical facility in suburban New Orleans, and was critical condition Sunday night. No update was immediately available Monday morning.
Lafayette-based PHI is a primary provider of helicopter services to oil and gas platforms that dot the coast of Louisiana. It also flies medical helicopters.
Workers typically are flown to and from their worksites from coastal flight bases.
Young said the Coast Guard assisted Terrebonne Parish sheriff’s deputies in recovering the dead and rescuing the survivor from the marshy Bayou Penchant area. A sheriff’s office spokesman did not return a phone call seeking comment Monday morning.
In June, a PHI Air Medical helicopter crashed in Texas, killing four people. The accident in the Sam Houston National Forest killed the pilot, paramedic, nurse and a patient who was being transported from Huntsville to Houston.
That crew agreed to transport the patient after another helicopter company abandoned the mission, saying cloud cover was too low, making visibility poor in the early morning darkness.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.