11 News Texas report
Coast Guard searches for missing chopper; 10 people aboard
Houston 08:46 AM CST Wed March 24, 2004
The U.S. Coast Guard is searching the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday morning about 90 miles south of Galveston for a missing helicopter with 10 people onboard.
The ERA Aviation S76 helicopter departed Shoals Field in Galveston at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday en route to the 835-foot exploratory ship Discovery Spirit, located approximately 130 miles east of South Padre Island.
The last reported contact with the helicopter was at 7:12 p.m. Tuesday when the pilot, Tim O'Neal of El Lago, Texas, reported they where en route to the ship. At the time of the radio transmission, the helicopter was approximately 90 miles south of Galveston.
A helicopter and Falcon Jet from Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi, and a helicopter form Air Station Houston are searching Wednesday morning, and four merchant ships transiting the area are also assisting the Coast Guard in the search.
The Coast Guard has issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast (UMIB) asking mariners to report any information they may have about the missing helicopter, and to request assistance with the search from any vessels near the search area.
The
Discoverer Spirit is a drilling unit designed around the normal hull of a ship.
