LA 82 plane crash - two dead

At approximately 8:30 p.m. Monday night a small single engine plane fell from the sky onto a field just north of a gas storage facility five miles north of Abbeville on La. 82.

Initial information from the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office stated, “search and rescue efforts suggest that there were no known survivors. Information on the plane crash, type of aircraft, identity of the pilot and any possible passengers was withheld until the arrival of federal agencies.

The National Transportation Safety Board will conduct the investigation as to the nature and cause of the plane crash.

Early in the morning, the Sheriff setup a command incident post and a buffer perimeter to secure the scene until the responsible agencies arrive to investigate.

Investigating agencies, Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board NTSB arrived during the day and released the following information.

According to Sheriff Couvillon, deputies began processing the crash scene at daybreak this morning. Positive identification of the occupants of the aircraft has not yet been determined, but according to company personnel with LCS Corrections Services, who were at the scene, the pilot flying the aircraft is believed to be R Solomon Reed Jr. (05-04-1947) from Opelousas, with one passenger, a Patrick L. Leblanc (03-21-1954) from Lafayette, Louisiana. Company personnel further informed that the flight originated from Jackson, Mississippi with a destination to Lafayette, Louisiana.

R. Solomon Reed, Jr. was the pilot and Patrick Leblanc the passenger.

The Sheriff says that personal identification found at the wreckage further identified the two occupants aboard the aircraft, but a more positive identification may be ordered by the office of Coroner.

The National Transportation Safety Board will be responsible for investigation into the cause of the crash.

The Sheriff also advises local residents that the tank storage units at the crash scene belonging to Flow Petroleum Services Inc. have been inspected by company personnel and have been deemed safe.