History of Flight
On October 26, 2022, about 1711 central daylight time, a Bell 407 helicopter, registration N34BM, was destroyed when it struck the Gulf of Mexico approximately 25 miles south of Morgan City, Louisiana. The helicopter was operated by Westwind Helicopter as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 air taxi flight.
The helicopter had departed the Westwind base in Abbeville, Louisiana, that morning to transport two workers to offshore platforms for telecommunications work. The flight landed at Green Canyon 18 (GC18) about 0848, refueled, then departed at 1402 for Ship Shoal 349 (SS349), where the crew had lunch before departing at 1631 for the return flight to Abbeville.
About 1720, the operator received an "overdue" message from the Sky Connect flight following system. After unsuccessful attempts to communicate, a search helicopter (N1416) was launched toward the last known position. At about 1836, the search helicopter spotted wreckage floating inverted in the water with the skid-mounted float system deployed. Two survivors were clinging to the belly of the helicopter. The survivors were rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter and taken to a hospital. The pilot's body was later recovered.
Passenger Accounts
Both surviving passengers were interviewed at the hospital on October 27, 2022. The left-front-seat passenger stated that they were flying about 1,500 ft above water when he heard the pilot say, "this is not good," and "I am not going to make it." The passenger asked if there was a problem; the pilot replied, "it is not the helicopter, it is me," and said he was "overheating." The pilot then slumped over and was unresponsive. When the helicopter was about 400 ft above the water, the passenger reached for the flight controls and attempted to control it. During descent, the float system was activated. The helicopter impacted the water and inverted; the passenger escaped and crawled onto the belly. He suffered a broken back.
The right-rear-seat passenger stated he was napping until he noticed a change in engine sound. He saw the pilot slumped over and the left-front passenger attempting to control the helicopter. The next thing he recalled was the helicopter upside down in the water. He exited, climbed on the belly, fired a signal, and deployed dye. He suffered a broken leg and cuts. Both passengers said the flight was normal until the pilot became incapacitated.
Wreckage and Recovery
During recovery, only portions of the intermediate fuselage, baggage compartment, and most landing gear skids were retrieved due to rough sea conditions. The skid-mounted floats were deployed and had been activated from the cockpit before water entry. The tailboom was later located on July 5, 2025, about 23 miles off the Louisiana coast. The helicopter's video recording system was lost at sea.
Medical Information
An autopsy determined the pilot's cause of death as helicopter crash into ocean, manner accidental. Coronary artery disease was present, including 30-40% narrowing of the left anterior descending artery and right coronary artery, severe aortic atherosclerosis, and mild intracranial atherosclerosis. The pilot had a history of high blood pressure and was prescribed losartan. His last aviation medical examination on October 12, 2022, had resulted in a first-class medical certificate with a requirement for near-vision glasses. Toxicological testing detected ethanol at 0.024 g/dL in blood and 0.016 g/dL in urine, which may have been from postmortem production; n-propanol and losartan were also detected.