2 weeks Ago
A Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office vehicle leads FAA official s over a wooden bayou bridge toward the site where a plane crashed in Raceland on Thursday, April 3, 2025. Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save The bodies of two pilots whose small plane crashed in the marshes of Raceland have been recovered and are now confirmed dead, Lafourche Parish officials said Thursday night. Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office spokesperson James Duhe confirmed the discovery, saying the bodies of of Lyle Panepinto and Lauren Menkemeller, who have been presumed dead, were found at about 8 p.
m. Their 1976 Cessna 210L aircraft, operated by Panepinto's charter company Southern Seaplane Inc., was found early Thursday morning about two miles west of Highway 90 and La.
182. The plane was flying from Belle Chasse to Houma when it crashed at around 8:30 p.m.
Rescue crews were initially hampered by darkness and wet terrain, but on Thursday located the plane, much of it underwater, in an area only accessible by airboat. Officials believe Menkemeller was a new hire at Southern Seaplane and she and Panepinto were out logging flight hours when the plane went down. Duhe said the victim's families have been notified.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash..
