VPSO: Helicopter crashes in Intracoastal City

INTRACOASTAL CITY — One person is confirmed dead in a foggy Friday morning helicopter crash in the Intracoastal City area in Vermilion Parish, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The helicopter was carrying only the pilot when it crashed about a quarter of a mile from where it took off during a test flight, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The Bristow Group, a Houston-based company that provides helicopter services to the offshore energy industry, identified the pilot of the Bell 407 helicopter as Carl Amos, of Corpus Christi, Texas.

“The family has been notified and we are supporting them during this time of grief,” the company said in a news release.

The helicopter crashed around 8 a.m., the company said.

The Sheriff’s Office said it was contacted about the crash at 8:20 a.m.

Torie Hebert, an employee of Maxie Pierce Grocery Store, located across the street from the Bristow Group’s heliport, said the area was covered in fog when she arrived at work at 9 a.m.

“It was really, really foggy this morning when I got here,” Hebert said. “It was like thick fog.”

The cause of the crash is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.