GULF OF MEXICO – A 33-year-old helicopter pilot who had close ties to Sullivan County – and the hamlet of Callicoon – died tragically in a crash on December 29 while working for his company, RLC.

Derek Freda was piloting a Bell 407 helicopter carrying four people, including himself, when the chopper “crashed into the Gulf of Mexico” at roughly noon local time “while departing the West Delta 106 offshore drilling platform,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a press release.

The FAA said it and the National Safety Board are investigating.

According to reports, the aircraft had been leased by helicopter operator RLC, was heading toward Galliano when it “crashed back into the helideck during takeoff, subsequently breaking apart and fell into the Gulf of Mexico, the FAA said. 

RLC is the largest privately-held helicopter operator in the Gulf of Mexico.

A three-day search for the remains of all four victims, including the pilot, came to an end earlier this year after they were found and taken to Port Fourchon. The helicopter was also recovered according to Fox 8 news.

Walter Oil, the owner of the platform, and Island Operating Co., where three of the passengers were employed, said in a joint statement, per WXXV-TV, “The response to the incident has been a joint effort involving Walter (owner of the offshore platform near where the helicopter went down in the water), Island (employer of the three passengers) and RLC (operator of the helicopter and employer of the pilot), along with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.”

It continued, “We extend our sincere condolences to the families and friends of the pilot and passengers on board the aircraft. We will continue to cooperate fully with the agencies investigating this tragic incident including the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.”

Local Ties

Derek was the son of the late Dick and Marcia Dornelas Freda, who owned a farm in Damascus, PA. The family also spent time in Brazil.

Dick and Marcia had four children, Derek, Brandan, Cynthia and Ashley. 

The two boys, both pilots, followed in their father’s footsteps as aviators, Derek as a helicopter pilot and Brandan as a plane pilot.

Their father, Dick, was an Air Force pilot, retired, who served our country for 8 years, as well as a retired commercial pilot for American Airlines, logging more than 20,000 hours during his 36-year career. 

Dick was also an accomplished writer, sending back letters to Sullivan County Democrat Publisher (the late) Fred W. Stabbert Jr. during the Vietnam war when he saw a year of active duty in 1966.  The letters were printed in a series of articles in this newspaper.

Fifty years later, Dick would start his second column writing career, “Vietnam: A Look Back” which started in October of 2016.

Dick was the brother of the late Col. Joe Freda, a decorated World War II Air Force pilot, who returned to Callicoon to found Freda Real Estate.

Derek leaves behind a large family of cousins, second cousins and friends to mourn his loss.