UPDATE JUNE 13, 2019
National Transportation Service Board (NTSB) Investigators are now on the scene investigating an aircraft crash that happened Wednesday in St. Landry Parish.
A spokesman for the NTSB says a preliminary report should be completed in about ten days.
Officials say that the pilot 49-year-old Kirk Bellard of Breaux Bridge (formerly of Eunice) and passenger 38-year-old Marcus D. Guidry of Breaux Bridge were killed when their aircraft went down on a levee in the Atchafalaya Basin.
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UPDATE: The St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office has released the names of the pilot and passenger in today’s fatal aircraft crash.
Officials say that the pilot 49-year-old Kirk Bellard of Breaux Bridge (formerly of Eunice) and passenger 38-year-old Marcus D. Guidry of Breaux Bridge were killed Wednesday when their aircraft went down on a levee in the Atchafalaya Basin.
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UPDATE: St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz has confirmed two people have died in an aircraft crash on the levee of the Atchafalaya River.
The sheriff says the FAA has taken over the investigation.
An FAA spokesman tells KATC that the single-engine Quicksilver Ultralight crashed around 12:15 p.m. Wednesday on a levee of the Atchafalaya Basin near the St. Landry-St. Martin line. The aircraft was carrying two people.
FAA investigators are on their way to the accident site, and the National Transportation Safety Board has been notified. The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation, the FAA spokeman said.
On the scene, officials say that the NTSB is en route from Chicago. They’re taking over because of the fatalities.
“The FAA will release the tail number after investigators verify it. Neither the FAA nor the NTSB release the names of aircraft occupants. We defer to local officials to make that information available at the appropriate time,” the FAA spokesman said.
The scene will be blocked off until further notice.
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First responders confirm they’re en route to a possible aircraft crash on the levee of the Atchafalaya River.
We have crews en route and will update this story as soon as possible.
