More detail on this person: TERREBONNE, La.
-- Eight people are dead after a helicopter
crashed Sunday into a marshy area in the lower
southwest portion of Terrebonne Parish, according
to Coast Guard officer Jaclyn Young.
There were nine people on board a PHI, Inc.
helicopter at the time of the crash, which
happened around 3:30 p.m. near Bayou Penchant.
One of them was transported to a nearby hospital,
while the Coast Guard put on a search for the
ninth person. That person was found dead later,
raising the death toll in the accident to eight.
PHI Inc. identified those killed in the crash as
Allen Boudreaux, of Ama, La.; Andrew Moricio and
Ezequiel Cantu of Morgan City, La.; Randy Tarpley
of Jonesville, La.; Charles W. Nelson of
Pensacola, Fla.; Thomas E. Ballenger of Eufaula,
Ala.; and Vyarl W. Martin of Hurst, Texas.
There was conflicting information on the name of
the eighth victim, a Bridge City man. PHI said the
injured man was Steven Yeltin of Floresville,
Texas.
"There is no way to describe the pain of this
terrible, terrible tragedy," said Mike Moreno, CEO
of the Moreno Group, who, along with Dynamic
Industries, employed five of the victims. "This is
devastating news for the entire Dynamic
community. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the
family members of these dedicated employees."
Richard Ravinelli, Director of Human Resources for
PHI, said the chopper had just taken off from the
PHI operating base in Amelia and was heading to
an offshore oil platform at the time of the crash.
Barbara Bryant's said her son was among those
killed in the accident.
"He has worked since he was young," Bryant said.
"He just spent 3 months offshore, just because he
wanted to save up enough money for a down
payment on his own house, and he's been living
with me to save his money to do that."
Bryant says her son has worked on oil rigs for
more than three years, but could never get used to
boarding helicopters -- the most common way
crews get out to the rigs.
"I'm thinking about him being in those marshes out
there," Bryant said. "He didn't want to fly
anyway. He just took the water survival course for
this company for shell the week before Christmas,
and said how terrified he was he did that, so
that's on my mind.. or that he's out there.
"He didn't make it."
The medevacted passenger, who is a 28-year-old
man, is listed as in critical condition and is
awaiting to be transferred to Oschner Medical
Center from the Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center
in Houma. Officials said that because of inclement
weather, they are trying to transfer him by ground
ambulance.
The U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Center in
Virginia originally picked up the distress signal
from the helicopter and alerted the Coast Guard
station in New Orleans, Young said. Shortly
thereafter the Coast Guard launched a HH-65C
rescue helicopter from New Orleans to the scene of
the accident.
Ted Lopatkiewicz, spokesman for the National
Transportation Safety Board, told the Associated
Press that he believes the plane crashed about
seven minutes after it took off. Lopatkiewicz said
that while the crew reported no problems before
the helicopter went down, there were scattered
clouds, and visibility was 10 miles at the time of
the crash.
According to their website, PHI, Inc. is a
helicopter services company that provides
transportation to offshore oil and gas, onshore
mining, and medical and technical services
industries. They are independently owned.
Last year there was another fatal accident
involving a PHI helicopter in Texas. In June,
three PHI crew members and a patient they were
transporting died after their helicopter crashed
on a private ranch near Huntsville.
The Terrebonne Sheriff's Office and Airforce
Rescue Coordination Center assisted in the
investigation
GIBSON, La. _ Authorities searched a southern
Louisiana marsh by boat Monday for clues that
might determine what caused 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, said
Richard Rovinelli, a company spokesman. Two
pilots and seven passengers were aboard when the
helicopter went down in rural Terrebonne Parish,
about 100 miles southwest of New Orleans. The
passengers worked for two Shell Oil Co.
contractors and the company said they were on
their way to its Gulf of Mexico platform.
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. There was no immediate
update on condition available Monday.
Ted Lopatkiewicz, spokesman for the National
Transportation Safety Board, said the helicopter
is believed to have crashed about seven minutes
after it took off at 3:02 p.m. EDT. 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.
A short time after the crash, the Air Force Rescue
Coordination Center in Panama City, Fla., received
an electronic distress signal from the helicopter
with the aircraft's tail number and GPS
coordinates, center spokesman Master Sgt. Jeffery
Harlan said. The center contacted PHI, which
confirmed it couldn't locate the chopper, Harlan
said.
The helicopter, a Sikorsky S-76C, would have had a
voice recorder aboard and possibly a flight data
recorder, Lopatkiewicz said. NTSB investigators
were expected to arrive later Monday at the crash
site, to work with local authorities in the search
for the recorder and other material. An NTSB
investigator also was headed for PHI's offices to
go through maintenance and crew records.
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 immediately return a phone call seeking
comment Monday.
PHI identified the dead as Allen Boudreaux, of
Ama, La.; Andrew Moricio and Ezequiel Cantu of
Morgan City, La.; Randy Tarpley of Jonesville,
La.; Jorey A. Rivero, of Bridge City, La.; Charles
W. Nelson of Pensacola, Fla.; Thomas E. Ballenger
of Eufaula, Ala. and Vyarl W. Martin of Hurst,
Texas.
The injured man was Steven Yeltin of Floresville,
Texas.
Ballenger and Marin were PHI pilots. Bourdreaux,
Moricio, Cantu and Tarpley worked for Dynamic
Industries of New Iberia, La. The other passengers
worked for MMR Offshore Services, Inc., part of
Baton Rouge-based MMR Group Inc.
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.
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
Please send additions or corrections to: HQ@vhpa.org VHPA Headquarters
Return to the Helicopter Pilot DAT name list
Return to VHPA web site
Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
Copyright © 1998 - 2024 Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association