1972 — May 29, helicopter carrying oil rig workers crashes, 3 miles south of Dulac, LA– 11

–11 Jennings Daily News, LA. “Oil Firm Copter Crashes in Marsh: 11 Aboard,” 5-29-1972.
–11 Monroe News-Star, LA. “Jena Men are Among 11 Dead in Helicopter.” 5-30-1972, p. 1.
–11 Planecrashinfo.com. 1972. Accident Details…Petroleum Helicopter, Dulac, LA, May 29.”

Narrative Information

Planecrashinfo.com: “Accident Details
“Date: May 29, 1972
“Time: 0604
“Location: Dulac, Louisiana
“Operator: Petroleum Helicopter
….
“Route: Dulac, LA – Gulf oil platform
“AC Type: Bell 205A
“Registration: N2256W
….
“Aboard: 11 (passengers: 10 crew: 1)
“Fatalities: 11 (passengers: 10 crew: 1)
….
“Summary: Crashed into the water after the fatigue failure of both tail rotor blade grips.” (Planecrashinfo.com.)

Newspaper

May 29, United Press International: “Dulac, La. (UPI) – A helicopter used by petroleum companies to ferry personnel and supplies between oil rigs in the South Louisiana marshland crashed today with 11 persons aboard. The sheriff’s office of Terrebonne Parish said crews had been sent into the area to search for the wreckage, but no one had arrived at the crash site by mid-morning. There was no report of survivors. The Terrebonne Parish sheriff’s office said the helicopter went down three miles south of Dulac and three miles east of Bayou Grand Caillou. ‘We’re trying to reach the wreckage,’ a spokesman for the sheriff’s office said. The area where the craft crashed is swampy and laced with bayous and is difficult to reach by car…” (Jennings Daily News, LA. 29 May 1972.)

May 30: “Dulac – Three Jena men were listed among 11 killed Monday when a helicopter plummeted into a Louisiana swamp as the pilot was taking the 10 men to their jobs on an offshore rig. The Terrebonne Parish coroner identified the three men as Jesse Gerald Smith, 39, Jimmy Dale Coleman, 24, and Jerry W. Clarkson, 35, all of Jena. They were employed by Penrod Drilling Co. Others who were killed, also employed by the company, were Richard M. Boyer, 38, of Houma; Stephen J. Forman, 23, of Lake Charles; Billy Banter, 23, Ravin P. Naquin, 40, both of Lafayette; Paul Ray Cole, 20, Wayne Dupuis, 24, both of Vick; and Benjamin Austin Odom, 44, of Long Beach, Miss. The pilot was identified as Fred Robarge, 37, of Broussard.

“The craft, owned by Petroleum Helicopters Corp. of Lafayette, slammed to earth upside-down with such an impact it was virtually buried in the soft black mud about 60 miles southwest of New Orleans.

“The position of the wreckage in the mud made recovery of the bodies difficult, but all 11 had been recovered by nightfall. The crash occurred before noon.

“The loaded craft, a Bell 205 model, was headed for Rig 56 in the Ship Shoal area of the Gulf of Mexico, south of Morgan City….

“The helicopters normally fly at altitudes of about 500 feet. The rotor from the crashed copter was found in a shallow lake approximately 200 yards from the main body of the wreckage….” (Monroe News-Star, LA. “Jena Men are Among 11 Dead in Helicopter.” 5-30-1972, p. 1.)

Sources

Jennings Daily News, LA. “Oil Firm Copter Crashes in Marsh: 11 Aboard,” 5-29-1972, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=156229404

Monroe News-Star, LA. “Jena Men are Among 11 Dead in Helicopter.” 5-30-1972, p. 1. Accessed 1-23-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/monroe-news-star-may-30-1972-p-1/

Planecrashinfo.com. 1972. “Accident Details…Petroleum Helicopter, Dulac, LA, May 29, 1972.” Accessed 1-23-2022 at: http://www.planecrashinfo.com/1972/1972-28.htm