Hammond man killed after boat, seaplane collide

A Hammond man was killed Thursday afternoon after the 18-foot fishing boat he was piloting accidentally struck a Chevron-operated seaplane as the plane was taking off in Bayou Lafourche at Leeville near the Chevron docks, according to authorities.

Michael Lyons, 58, was pronounced dead at the scene, said Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesman Larry Weidel. Lyons was the only person aboard the boat.

The occupants of the Cessna float plane were the pilot Gary Songy, 53, of Mandeville, Louisiana, James Hunter, 50, of Pace, Florida, and James Parish, Jr., 51, of Hattiesburg, Miss.

The three, who are all Chevron employees, were taken to West Jefferson Hospital following the accident, and discharged.

They “managed to exit the partially submerged plane that flipped over at impact with the fishing boat,” the release states.

After the accident, part of the plane rested above water because it had settled in a shallow area of Bayou Lafourche.

“Witnesses on the scene indicated the driver of the boat, Lyons, crossed into the plane’s path” before the collision, the release states.

The plane probably never became airborne during takeoff, according to an Associated Press report.

“There are so many intersecting bayous on either side of Bayou Lafourche,” Weidel said. “The boat came out of a cut, or channel, into the path of the plane. By the time they saw one another, it was too late.”

Weidel described the way a seaplane would take off from Bayou Lafourche in Leeville.

“I don’t know if there’s a seaplane ‘takeoff’” spot,” he said. “There’s industrial traffic in the Leeville area. There are recreational fishing boats, crew boats in the area.

“The seaplane looks down the bayou to see if it’s clear,” he said. “It revs up. I’m sure it takes a couple of blocks to take off.”

Chevron spokesman Alex Yelland said, “At this point, we do not know the cause of the accident.”

The Greater Lafourche Harbor Police, the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s water patrol, Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries agents, and the U.S. Coast Guard dispatched personnel to the scene of the accident.

“The accident is still under investigation,” the release states. “Members of the Federal Aviation Administration will arrive (Friday) to handle their part of the investigation.”

Weidel said, “This is the first time I’ve heard of a boat and plane colliding in Lafourche Parish.”

The Associated Press contributed to portions of this story.