NTSB releases helicopter pilots’ final words before deadly crash that killed 8 in Louisiana

Recordings before La. helicopter crash released

NEW ORLEANS — A cockpit voice recorder captured a bang and a loud air noise just before a helicopter crashed in Louisiana last year, killing eight people.

A transcript released Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board says one of the pilots asked, “What the hell happened?” after hearing the bang.

The other pilot responded, “Low rotor.”

The first pilot said, “I cannot hear you.”

Those were the final words spoken by the pilots before the Sikorsky crashed near Morgan City on Jan. 4, 2009.

The cause remains under investigation, but investigators believe it struck a bird before crashing. The helicopter was carrying workers to an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico.