LAPLACE, La. — Federal aviation investigators released the preliminary findings of a deadly helicopter crash onto an Interstate 10 bridge on a foggy morning in December.
The National Transportation Safety Board said the Bell 407 helicopter was destroyed when it collided with a wire suspended about 130 feet above the I-10 Bonnet Carré Spillway bridge. Several vehicle dash cameras captured the helicopter crashing into the bridge, showing the helicopter’s rotor blades, mast and transmission separated from the fuselage and fell into Lake Pontchartrain. The crash caused a fire that consumed most of the fuselage.
The pilot, later identified as Joshua Hawley — a father of three children from Livingston Parish — died in the crash. He was the only person aboard the helicopter. No one on the ground was injured.
The NTSB preliminary report said there was significant fog in the area at the time of the crash that caused the power lines to be barely visible.
“From a top-down view, there was very dense fog from all areas with a tall column of clouds to the west of the power line intersection where the accident occurred,” the report says.
The helicopter departed from Gonzales and was en route to the New Orleans Lakefront Airport.
The crash caused damage to Entergy Louisiana’s transmission infrastructure, knocking out power to around 20,000 customers.
Hawley worked as a pilot and Fleet and Technology Manager for the Five-S Group, a Baton Rouge construction company.
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.