CENTERVILLE, La. — Two people, including a Gheens man, died Thursday morning after a helicopter crashed about 13 miles southwest of Morgan City, authorities said.
The helicopter, a Robinson R-44 owned by Cenac Marine Services of Houma, left the Houma-Terrebonne Airport after 8 a.m., the Coast Guard said. The crash happened an hour later near Belle Isle, according to the St. Mary Sheriff’s Office, where it was seen up in flames.
The passenger, Lanny Ledet, 43, of Gheens, was a longtime employee of Cenac, according to attorney Berwick Duval. The pilot, Jason McKean, 40, of Amite, flew helicopters for Chet Morrison Contractors in Houma, authorities said.
The two victims were the only passengers in the helicopter, according to federal authorities.
The crash is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration. It is unknown what caused the chopper to go down, authorities said.
On Thursday afternoon, authorities set up base at the Cabot boat launch off La. 317 near Centerville. The crash site is a few miles away from East Bay and the Gulf of Mexico The bodies of both men were recovered, as well as parts of the helicopter.
Autopsies will be done by the St. Mary Coroner’s Office
National Transportation and Safety Board Investigator Arnold Scott said he will be traveling to Louisiana within the next couple of days to investigate the crash. He said it is “going to be a while before we get all our facts together.”
A spokesman for Chet Morrison said the pair were not conducting business for Chet Morrison when the chopper crashed. Duval said he heard the pair were headed to an alligator-industry conference.
Ledet was the longtime manager at Cenac’s Golden Ranch Plantation in Gheens. In a statement released Thursday, Cenac Marine Services said, “The entire Cenac family is mourning this tragic loss.”
Robinson Helicopter Company, based in Torrence, Calif., did not immediately return a request for comment.
In a brief interview Thursday, Karol McKean, Jason’s wife, said her husband left behind two children. He flew many aircrafts, she said, and often took his 12-year-old son up in the air with him.
“He had a lot of people that loved him,” Karol said.
Mike Kreller, a friend of Ledet and McKean, said he met McKean while attending Louisiana Tech in Ruston. He said McKean was an experienced pilot with nearly 20 years of flying under his belt.
Kreller also said Ledet had a lifelong love of hunting and fishing.
“When somebody pays you to run the (plantation), it has to be your dream job,” Kreller said, adding that Ledet and McKean often flew together.
Sheila Theriot, a family member of Ledet’s, said Ledet worked on the Gheens plantation since he was 15. He left behind four children, she said, and added that he was “an awesome guy who always saw the good in people.”
This is the first local helicopter crash in three years. In January 2009, eight people died and one other was hurt when a chopper carrying oilfield workers crashed into a marshy area of west Terrebonne near Bayou Penchant. Investigators later determined that a bird struck the helicopter before it went down, causing the crash.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Staff Writer Eric Heisig can be reached at 857-2202 or eric.heisig@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @TerrebonneCrime.
