Dad among 4 dead in Gulf of Mexico helicopter crash, son says. ‘Irreplaceable’

A father from Mississippi is among four people who were aboard a helicopter that crashed into the Gulf of Mexico on Dec. 29, according to his son.

The remains of the four occupants have been recovered, according to a statement issued on Jan. 3 by three private companies involved in the recovery efforts.

Crews began a rescue mission in an attempt to recover the four bodies on New Year’s Day, four days after a helicopter went down following a takeoff from an oil platform 10 miles off of Southwest Pass, Louisiana, a shipping channel in the Mississippi River, the Biloxi Sun Herald reported.

The U.S. Coast Guard searched for eight hours after receiving a call that a helicopter had gone down at around 8:40 a.m. on Dec. 29, according to the agency. Crews looked over about 180 square miles before suspending the search.

In a joint statement, Walter Oil and Gas, the owner of the oil platform; Rotorcraft Leasing Company, the operator of the helicopter and employer of the pilot; and Island Operating, the company that employed the three off-shore oil workers who were aboard the helicopter, confirmed in a joint statement that the remains of all four occupants had been found.

“We extend our sincere condolences to the families and friends of the pilot and passengers on board the aircraft,” the statement says. “We will continue to cooperate fully with the agencies investigating this tragic incident including the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.”

The companies did not identify the people on board.

WLOX-TV in Biloxi reported that the helicopter had been located on Monday, Jan. 2.

The chopper was carrying a pilot and three off-shore oil workers and was heading back to shore when it crashed, the Sun Herald reported.

The Clarke County Tribune reported on Dec. 29 that Tim Graham, of Quitman, Mississippi, was one of the people on board.

Cade G. Graham, Tim Graham’s son, posted a tribute to his father on Facebook.

“He was the hardest-working, toughest man I’ve ever known,” the younger Graham wrote. “He was so kind to everyone he knew and encountered. He would break his back to help someone in need and often put helping others ahead of his own abundant workload.”

Graham’s son called him the “greatest example” for his children and grandchildren, saying that he never drank, smoked or cursed in front of his kids. He did not respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.

“Even in his most angry moments he always had so much composure and control over his actions,” he wrote on Facebook. “... He is truly irreplaceable.”

Lindsey Graham Lafferty wrote on Facebook that her family members’ hearts were “broken.”

“You were the best pawpaw to all our babies,” she said. “You loved us all unconditionally and did everything you could for us and everyone around you. You were so honest and hard working.”

One of the other victims of the crash was David Scarborough, 36, of Lizana, Mississippi,, his wife, Lacy Scarborough, told the Sun Herald.

She called her husband an “old soul” who had loved his 2-year-old son, Sawyer. Sawyer died in a drowning in March, the outlet reported. Lacy is expecting her second son with David in April.

The other two people aboard the helicopter have not been publicly identified.

The National Transportation Safety Board tweeted on Dec. 29 that it was investigating the crash. The agency has not released any further updates.

The oil platform where the helicopter took off from is operated by Walter Oil and Gas, a company based in Houston, Texas, according to The Washington Post.

Coast Guard rescuers responded to another crash off the coast of Louisiana earlier in December.

On Dec. 15, the Coast Guard rescued all three passengers that had been aboard a helicopter when it went down about 35 miles south of Terrebonne Bay on the coast of Louisiana, according to the agency. All three were in stable condition.

The helicopters involved in both the Dec. 29 and Dec. 15 crashes are owned by Rotorcraft Leasing Company.

Sun Herald editor Justin Mitchell contributed to this report.

This story was originally published January 2, 2023 at 2:47 PM with the headline "Dad among 4 dead in Gulf of Mexico helicopter crash, son says. ‘Irreplaceable’."