Coast Guard Rescues Four From Plane After Landing In Atchafalaya River
The Coast Guard rescued four persons from the Lower Atchafalaya River after an emergency landing of a twin-engine plane.
Petty Officer Lora Ratliff says the pilot was flying from Slidell to Patterson late Tuesday afternoon when the 8th Coast Guard District command center in New Orleans got the emergency call 17 miles south of Patterson.
"A Piper PA-34 twin engine airplane was low on fuel. The pilot had to shut down the engines to conserve fuel and was forced to make an emergency landing in the river."
Ratliff said the pilot made a valiant effort trying to avoid the emergency landing of the plane, but realized he couldn’t make it.
"He did shut down one engine and then he was still running out of fuel and had to shut down the other one and was forced to make the emergency landing."
A reported minor injury was treated at a nearby hospital. There is no word on why the plane was low on fuel.