PLAQUEMINES PARISH, La. — A helicopter crashed Thursday morning in the Gulf of Mexico about 10 miles from Southwest Pass, one of the main shipping channels near the mouth of the Mississippi River.
The U.S. Coast Guard Captain, Greg Callaghan, said crews searched for four passengers most of Thursday before suspending the search.
"Until sunset, just before 5pm yesterday evening," Callaghan said.
They were able to find debris from the chopper but no people.
“It is our belief at this point, based on the nature of the crash, that if there was anyone that survived the crash we would have been able to locate them," Callaghan said, “And it is never an easy decision to suspend our search operations.”
The four people onboard included one pilot and three passengers, Callaghan said.
One of the passengers was identified by his wife as David Scarborough. The family lives outside of Gulfport.
His wife, Lacy, shared with the Sun-Herald they're expecting a baby boy soon and that Scarborough was returning home from his work on an offshore oil rig.
According to the Coast Guard, the owner of the platform is Walter Oil & Gas Co., which has its corporate offices in Houston.
Meanwhile, the chopper was operated by Rotorcraft Leasing Co. which is based in Broussard.
This is the fourth helicopter crash in Louisiana this year, according to the National Transportation and Safety Board's website.
Of those four crashes, three were operated by RLC. That includes Thursday's crash and another about two weeks ago that injured three people.
The third chopper crash operated by RLC killed two people in January. The NTSB's preliminary report from January's crash does not say what caused the accident, but it does say, "...there was no mechanical failure or malfunction that would have precluded normal operation."
The two crashes from this month are still under investigation by the NTSB.
Eyewitness News reached out to RLC for a comment, but the company did not respond.