801
Views

Crew Assist Coastguard in Helicopter Rescue, One Killed

Published Oct 10, 2013 11:10 AM by The Maritime Executive

Mr. Ridge. Image courtesy Iberia Marine Facebook

A Helicopter crashed 30 miles northeast of Venice, Louisiana killing the pilot and injuring the two of the three passengers aboard. The USCG in New Orleans received a report at 7:24 Wednesday from the Mr. Ridge offshore supply vessel that a helicopter had crashed around Main Block Pass 108.

According to reports, the helicopter crashed immediately after takeoff from an oil rig. The Mr. Ridge, a 150-ft fast supply vessel belonging to Iberia Marine Service, assisted in the rescue, bringing aboard the four people involved in the crash, and transporting them back to the Wood Group PSN rig that they had taken off from.

The four crewmen aboard the Mr. Ridge had only been out at sea about 15 minutes when it received the call about the downed helicopter. Jack Jowers, an attorney for Iberia Marine Services has stated that the crew of the Mr. Ridge was well prepared to assist in the rescue.  On Iberia Marine’s Facebook page they credit  the crew of the Mr. Ridge by saying, “Way to go crew of Mr. Ridge! You guys should be proud and we are proud of you.”

The coastguard later reported that one person was brought aboard their rescue helicopter with back injuries and later transported to LSU Medical Center. The other three involved in the crash were transported by Acadian Air to LSU Medical Center. The coastguard said that the condition of the four people was unknown, but it has since been disclosed that the contracted pilot has died. Two of the survivors have been reported to have suffered back injuries, while the last survivor was unharmed.

The three passengers aboard the helicopter had just finished their shift aboard the oil rig and were headed back to shore. They were employed by the Wood Group PSN, which is based out of Houston, but is part of the larger company John Wood Group PLC headquartered in Aberdeen Scotland.

Iberia Marine Service operates a fleet of 11 crewboats in the Gulf of Mexico servicing the oil and gas industry.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation.