The victim of Thursday’s plane crash at Oakbourne Country Club has been identified by the Lafayette Fire Department as local builder Greg Manuel.
Manuel, 73, was co-owner of Manuel Builders, a firm founded by his father in 1963 that specializes in residential and commercial construction and grew to one of the region’s largest, having also expanded into Texas.
Manuel joined his father’s company in the 1970s after flying helicopters for the U.S. Military in Vietnam.
His plane crashed onto the Oakbourne golf course shortly after takeoff late Thursday morning. The runway for Lafayette Regional Airport is a few hundred feet away from Oakbourne’s greens and fairways. Authorities pronounced him dead on arrival.
The Acadiana Advocate reported late this afternoon that Manuel was the pilot in the fiery crash and had no passengers on board.
Officials with Federal Aviation Administration are on the scene conducting their initial investigation, and representatives with National Transportation Safety Board are expected to arrive on scene tomorrow, according to the LFD.