PHI S76 Crash

Etouffee · October 23, 2006

Both pilots are ok and they had no passengers on board.

Gomer Pylot · October 23, 2006

Media incompetence again. Near 'the Eugene Islands'? This is a station in Lafayette, LA, where oil is THE big employer, very near the Gulf and the lease blocks, and they can't even get stuff like that right?

C of G · October 23, 2006

Media incompetence again. Near 'the Eugene Islands'? This is a station in Lafayette, LA, where oil is THE big employer, very near the Gulf and the lease blocks, and they can't even get stuff like that right?

I gotta admit, I haven't seen the Eugene Islands on the chart. Really amazing when you think about the impact of offshore oil and the lack of understanding or inaccuracies at the very least.

Voluptuary5 · October 24, 2006

Gomer,

I was so relieved to see your post. I hate to say it but that was my first thought. I know you fly in the GOM, fly an S76, and have been doing it for years...

Fly safe everyone!

-V5

Etouffee · October 24, 2006

Although they should get this information correct because they are a news outlet I would cut them some slack.

KLFY hires a lot of interns from ULL and they just hired a new batch of them and more then likely quite a few of them are not from this area so the reference to Eugene Island area might have just been an honest mistake by someone new.

They shouldn't make that mistake or it should have been caught before it was printed but to be honest that for the most part is really nit picking.

Gomer, just a question but I have read some of your posts and it seems as though you really don't care for Louisiana that much. Would that be correct or am I misreading your posts?

GLSNightPilot · October 24, 2006

Nitpicking, maybe, but the media outlets are responsible for reporting accurately, and accuracy seems to be less and less common. Interns or not, don't they have editors?

Gomer Pylot · October 24, 2006

I'm not that enchanted with the parts of Louisiana I am forced to frequent; you read that part correctly. There are wonderful parts of Louisiana, but I don't often get to visit them. Someone was very optimistic when Freshwater city, Intracoastal city, and even Morgan city were named. The first two aren't even villages, and Morgan City is barely a town, and the surrounding areas are not exactly paradise, unless you're a mosquito. I have to admit the disenchantment carries over into parts of Texas, at least as far as Sabine Pass. They're all God-forsaken hell holes. And I'm being kind with that description.

Etouffee · October 24, 2006

Nitpicking, maybe, but the media outlets are responsible for reporting accurately, and accuracy seems to be less and less common. Interns or not, don't they have editors?

Yes I said that they should not let that type of mistake get out. However I am willing to let a few little ones slide because of what they try to do to help out in the community.

I was a little supprised that due to the scope of the story that the focus was put on that and not the accident itself.

I'm not that enchanted with the parts of Louisiana I am forced to frequent; you read that part correctly. There are wonderful parts of Louisiana, but I don't often get to visit them. Someone was very optimistic when Freshwater city, Intracoastal city, and even Morgan city were named. The first two aren't even villages, and Morgan City is barely a town, and the surrounding areas are not exactly paradise, unless you're a mosquito. I have to admit the disenchantment carries over into parts of Texas, at least as far as Sabine Pass. They're all God-forsaken hell holes. And I'm being kind with that description.

LOL yea I can agree with most of that. I know a lot of people though that live and work in these same areas and to them it is home! I also don't live far from them and so I hate to see them discribed as God-forsaken hell holes. I'm sure you will call them what you want and not much I can do about that but I cringe when I read some of your posts about this part of Louisiana.

Just wondered though because I seen you put up posts like this before. I know we aren't Flordia but we have good people here, good food and sometimes some good weather

Ok now an addition to the story about the Aircraft. The paper quoted Frank McGill with the NTSB. He said "They got into some weather, somehow, very near the platform when a downdraft pushed the aircraft into the water"

Wally · October 24, 2006

Eugene Island is:

Unique geological feature in the area of EI 330;

A lease block area, extending South the shore approximately between the Eastern edge of Vermillion Bay and the Atchafalaya- That's between the South Marsh and Ship Shoal Areas, if that's any help;

And the name of automated weather observation and reporting buoy in Atchafalya Bay.

Gomer Pylot · October 25, 2006

I don't know what kind of downdraft could force an unloaded S76A++ into the water. The captain has emailed friends saying he screwed up and is having second thoughts about continuing to fly. He's also not happy about being in the water for 2.5 hours with apparently nobody knowing they were down there.

Etouffee, I know about the people and the food, and also the weather. If it weren't for the people and the food, it would really be bad down there. I've been flying in south LA for 25 years, and I know it all too well.

Gerhardt · October 25, 2006

They're all God-forsaken hell holes. And I'm being kind with that description.

I spent a couple of months down there so I thought that was funny.

Etouffee · October 26, 2006

I don't know what kind of downdraft could force an unloaded S76A++ into the water. The captain has emailed friends saying he screwed up and is having second thoughts about continuing to fly. He's also not happy about being in the water for 2.5 hours with apparently nobody knowing they were down there.

Etouffee, I know about the people and the food, and also the weather. If it weren't for the people and the food, it would really be bad down there. I've been flying in south LA for 25 years, and I know it all too well.

Intresting Info for sure. We had someone call us Monday when they had radio traffic about another aircraft down. Not sure if they had really heard correctly or overheard someone talking about the aircraft from the day before we did a roll call on our aircraft. We were all good and it wasn't until the next day we found out that nother company put a 407 in the water. I hear everyone on that flight was unhurt but 2 in two days Not a good trend for the start of the season where weather really plays a big roll in flight operations.

And just so you know Gomer I wasnt tryin to dog ya but I love my Cajuns!

Gomer Pylot · October 26, 2006

Yeah, Jerry's Kids put a 407 in. Had a chip light and apparent FADEC malfunction.

Gerhardt, I spend a couple of months there every other week!

Etouffee, dog away. I can take it.

Heloplt · October 28, 2006

Nitpicking, maybe, but the media outlets are responsible for reporting accurately, and accuracy seems to be less and less common. Interns or not, don't they have editors?

Amen to that.

Start a thread on the Law Enforcement section asking for opinions on the fair, accurate, and unbiased state of news media reports. I'm thinking you'd get an earful. The major news outlets are here to make a profit. Do they provide a service for the community? Yes they do. But never forget they are run by human beings who have agendas, personal bias, and even grudges or scores to settle.

Sounds a little jaded or even borderline cynical your thinking? For the past 26 years I have seen firsthand the inaccurate, slanted, or outright fabricated news stories about incidents I have dealt with or people I worked with. Aviation incidents are one of the worst. How many times have you seen the news outlets with their armchair quarterbacks who have solved the airliner crash 3 hours after impact? Why do we need the NTSB, the media already has the answer?

Whoa, major soapbox moment there, sorry. For the most part the media tries to do the right thing, just don't ask me to view them as charitable public servants (please??).