Rescuers have recovered the pilot’s body from the wreckage of a helicopter that crashed in the swampy Atchafalaya Basin west of Baton Rouge, authorities said.
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Search crews from the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), Louisiana State Police, Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Office, St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Coast Guard started searching for the missing helicopter and pilot yesterday, August 3, after 4 p.m. Agents and deputies then confirmed that the missing helicopter was found with the deceased body of the pilot nearby.
The Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office, which will notify the pilot’s family of the crash, had not released the person’s name by Thursday afternoon but identified him as a 29-year-old man.
Hazelwood says a state police helicopter is flying over the search area Thursday morning, but “there’s a lot of trees and water”.
FAA records show the helicopter is registered to Gulf Coast Helicopters, Inc., a private helicopter rental company based in Pearland, Texas. He says at least one person was onboard.
He said it was an Air Force helicopter, though an Air Force captain told KATC no members of the Air Force were on board the helicopter when it crashed.
A company representative who answered Gulf Coast Helicopter’s emergency phone number said the company has no comment.
The helicopter was headed toward Patterson but did not arrive when it was supposed to, prompting the report and the search.
The Federal Aviation Administration tells KATC that the helicopter was reported missing around 4 p.m. Wednesday.
We are working to get more details.
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We will continue to follow this story and bring you updates as they become available.
