Bell 407 Down in Gulf of Mexico

The Coast Guard on Sunday night located debris believed associated with a Bell 407 that went missing over the weekend off the Louisiana coast. Two were aboard the 1996 model helicopter, N79LP, registered to Panther Helicopters of Belle Chasse, Louisiana, that went missing Saturday morning approximately 13 nm west of Southwest Pass, Louisiana. It was flying between two offshore energy platforms at the time.

U.S. Coast Guard District 8 New Orleans said Sunday that it received a report Saturday at 10:37 a.m. from Panther that it had lost contact with the helicopter when it was approximately 10 minutes out from landing. Early Sunday night, the Coast Guard reported debris spotted 40 nm west of Southwest Pass.