Pilot, passenger die in Gulf of Mexico heli crash, Bristow confirms

Offshore helicopter operator Bristow Group has confirmed the deaths of the pilot and the passenger who were in a Bristow helicopter which crashed in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico on Sunday.

“Bristow Group Inc. has confirmed it has recovered the pilot who was fatally injured in Sunday’s helicopter accident in the Gulf of Mexico involving one of its helicopters, a Bell 407, registration N577AL, operating between Galliano and Venice, Louisiana. The flight was carrying one pilot and one passenger who also died in the accident and was recovered yesterday,” Bristow said on Monday.

“The pilot was a valued member of the Bristow team. Out of respect for the family’s wishes, we are not releasing the name of our pilot at this time. Bristow extends our deepest condolences to both families impacted by this accident,” Bristow said.

To remind, following the initial reports of the incident, a local website Houma Today on Sunday evening reported that “one person was killed and another is missing.”

The website reported, citing the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office, that Nicholas Duplantis, reportedly an oil worker of Houma, was killed in the accident, while the pilot remained missing at the time.

Bell 407, a four-blade, single-engine aircraft, is classified as a small helicopter and has the capacity to carry 6 people. According to available info, as of September 2018, Bristow had 24 helicopters of the Bell 407 type, and overall, it had more than 300 helicopters.

Offshore Energy Today Staff