Dulac, LA Helicopter Crashes Into Marsh, May 1972

HELICOPTER CRASH KILLS 11 PERSONS.

Dulac, La. (UPI) -- A helicopter that crashed in a marsh upside down Monday, killing all 11 persons aboard, buried itself in mud so deep engineers had to use a marsh buggy, cables and a hoist to pull it out.
The chopper was carrying 10 employes of the Penrod Drilling Co. to an offshore oil well.
The 11th victim was the pilot employed by Petrolium Helicopters, Inc., which owned the helicopter. The cause of the crash was not known.
Recovery workers rode into the mucky terrain on a marsh buggy, a vehicle with large wheels capable of traveling in the mud.
The Penrod employes were:
RICHARD M. BOYER, 38, of Houma, La.
STEPHENS J. FOREMAN, 28, of Lake Charles, La.
BILLY B. BANTER, 28, and
RAYIN P. NAQUIA, 40, both of Lafayette, La.
PAUL RAY COLE, 20, and
WAYNE DUPUIS, 24, both of Vick, La.
JESSIE GERALD SMITH, 39,
JIMMY DALE COLEMAN, 24, and
JERRY W. CLARKSON, 35, all of Jena, La.
and BENJAMIN AUSTIN ODOM, 44, of Long Beach, Miss.
The pilot was FRED ROBARGE, 37, of Broussard, La.
The helicopter had taken off only minutes earlier from a base at Dulac. It crashed three miles south of Dulac and three miles east of Bayou Grand Cailiou.
KENNETH WELLS, a news reporter for the Homa Courier, said the pilot who flew him over the crash site "theorized that the helicopter hit the water first, maybe trying to make a crash landing, then skidded across the water and kind of burrowed itself into the marsh."

The Brownsville Herald Texas 1972-05-30
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!