Nola report
CAMERON, La. (AP) — A helicopter crashed in high winds with three men on board, and a slew of aircraft and boats searched for survivors on Saturday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
"They've found parts of the aircraft this afternoon, small pieces of debris, the tail rotor, part of the fuselage, part of the engine covering," said Petty Officer Gaines Huneycutt of the U.S. Coast Guard in New Orleans on Saturday.
The helicopter, part of the Petroleum Helicopters Inc. fleet, was on its way to an offshore oil rig about 80 miles south of Cameron Friday morning when it crashed, officials said.
The pilot failed to report landing on the rig, and PHI reported the aircraft missing at 11:30 a.m.
"It was pretty windy. They had a rain squall that came through at about the same time," said Huneycutt. He estimated that winds were between 25 and 30 knots.
Huneycutt said there were no signs that the helicopter crashed into the rig.
Ed Gatza, a manager of field human resources at PHI, said two offshore workers and a pilot were on the helicopter. Gatza said their next of kin was being notified, and he would not release the men's names by late Friday. Gatza did not immediately return telephone calls on Saturday.
Huneycutt said several helicopters, a jet and offshore supply vessels searched for the men Saturday. A sonar boat looked for the wreckage of the helicopter.
Another PHI helicopter crashed in August, killing three people aboard. That helicopter crashed in rainy weather about 70 miles south of Morgan City.
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LAFAYETTE — Debris that probably came from a helicopter missing in the Gulf of Mexico since Friday has been found near the aircraft's last known position.
“We’re 98.9 percent sure that it’s from that helicopter,” said Lt. Kelly Skiles of the U.S. Coast Guard in New Orleans. The search for survivors continues, Skiles said, but is now being concentrated around a debris field that was found 10 to 15 miles south of the platform where the pilot of the helicopter radioed that he was going in for a landing, about 80 miles south of Cameron.
The helicopter is owned by Petroleum Helicopters Inc., based in Lafayette.
None of those aboard has been identified.
The pilot of the PHI aircraft was taking two oil company workers from one platform to another, about 80 miles apart. He was last heard from about 10:15 a.m. when he called to report he was coming in for a landing, said Ed Gatza, PHI’s manager of field human resources. The aircraft was reported missing at 11:30 a.m., and both PHI and the Coast Guard searched throughout the night.
The Coast Guard said the debris field was spotted from the air by a PHI search helicopter about 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
PHI has another helicopter and two boats searching for survivors. The Coast Guard also has several helicopters, two airplanes and two cutters in the area, Skiles said, but the search has narrowed to areas around the debris field, which she said consists of fiberglass and aluminum from the body of an aircraft.
“We’re pretty sure it’s from that helicopter,” she said. “It gives us a better location to search for survivors. At least we know where to look.”
Another PHI helicopter, with five people aboard, went down in the Gulf in mid-August, about 70 miles south of Morgan City. One man died in that accident, and two others were injured.
If the Coast Guard is correct about the debris, four helicopters have crashed in the Gulf since Jan. 1, 2002, and three others have been involved in accidents.