NEW ORLEANS â€"  Authorities say the body of a pilot whose helicopter crashed in the Gulf of Mexico has been recovered.

The Coast Guard said in a news release that divers from the vessel Ocean Inspector found the pilot inside the aircraft's cockpit.

The agency says the helicopter, owned by PHI Inc., crashed Monday afternoon and was used to take people to oil rigs.

The Times-Picayune reported that a spokesman for PHI, Dave Stepanek, only would confirm that one of the company's helicopters was in the water and said more information would be released Tuesday.

In 2009, a helicopter operated by PHI crashed en route to a Gulf of Mexico oil platform, killing two pilots and six of seven passengers aboard. Investigators suspected that a bird struck the aircraft.