NTSB LAUNCHES TEAM TO INVESTIGATE HELICOPTER CRASH IN GULF OF MEXICO

National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Ellen Engleman-Conners has announced that the NTSB is launching a team to investigate the crash of a Sikorsky S-76A helicopter, registration N579EH, in the Gulf of Mexico.

The helicopter was registered to and operated by ERA Aviation Inc., of Anchorage, Alaska. On Tuesday, March 23, 2004, at approximately 6:45 pm CST, the aircraft departed from the Scholes International Airport (GLS), near Galveston, Texas, destined for the High Island A 557 refueling platform located in the Gulf of Mexico. The flight was supposed to refuel and continue to an offshore drilling ship. The company reported a crew of two and eight passengers were aboard the helicopter.

The investigative team will be led by Lorenda Ward, the NTSB Investigator-In-Charge, and is expected to arrive in Lake Charles, Louisiana this evening.

NTSB Media Contact: Ted Lopatkiewicz, (202) 314-6100