Pilot killed in Louisiana helicopter crash identified

NEW IBERIA , La., Aug. 5 (UPI) -- The body of the pilot whose helicopter crashed into Louisiana's Atchafalaya Basin was found and identified.

Casey Clark, 29, of Pearland, Texas, and formerly of Great Falls, Mont., was performing pipeline inspections and was the only person in the Schweizer H269 helicopter when it crashed Wednesday into a remote area of the swamp. Most of the helicopter's wreckage was underwater when it was found Thursday in Iberia Parish, about 14 miles from the town of Jeanerette.

"The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Traffic Safety Board will be on the scene tomorrow morning (Friday). We will have our people there to assist, along with people from the St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office," said Iberia Parish Sheriff Louis Ackal. Referring to the heavily wooded area where the helicopter was found, Ackal added, "It's a real hard scene to get to. It's a fluke that they found it at all."

Officials began a search for the aircraft, owned by Gulf Coast Helicopters, Inc., when it did not arrive after a planned trip Wednesday from Gonzales to Patterson.