Skiers in Utah witnessed snow blasting into the air as two Black Hawk helicopters crashed just a few hundred yards away from a resort.
Crews were taking part in a standard training exercise on US Forest Service yesterday morning, February 22, when the helicopters came down near the Snowbird Ski Resort, located about about 28 miles from Salt Lake City in Utah.
The resort is popular with skiers due to its ample snowfall and varying terrain, including a typically windy canyon named Mineral Basin, where the two UH-60 helicopters crashed.
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See footage from the incident below.
Utah National Guard spokesperson Jared Jones has explained that it is routine for pilots to practice landing in difficult areas so they can prepare for combat, but it is rare for the aircraft to crash like they did yesterday.
Incredibly, none of men and women on board the helicopters or any of the dozens of nearby skiers were injured in the incident, though a number of skiers witnessed the moment the crash took place.
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Noah Sikorski, an 18-year-old skier, told Associated Press that he had watched the helicopters go down at a flat area that is frequently used for snowmobile lessons.
At first, Sikorski thought the landing looked controlled, but it became clear something was wrong when he saw debris flying towards the chairlift he was on. The skier later saw crew members in National Guard uniform carrying a stretcher with gear and equipment strapped on.
Other people in the area described hearing a boom as the helicopters came down, and saw dust spreading from the crash site below a chairlift. When the air cleared, some could see broken propeller blades in the wreckage.
The crash is said to have taken place as the helicopters attempted to land in an approved landing zone, when they experienced white-out conditions. According to Fox 13 Now, a blade from one of the helicopters struck the other and took out its tail rotor, forcing it to land on its side.
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Jones has assured that efforts are underway to investigate and to clear the debris from the mountain.
He said, 'We do train on the edge so that we’re ready for a combat environment anywhere in the world. The crews assume some level of risk. Every time you go fly a helicopter, there’s a little bit of danger involved. I’m just happy everyone is OK.'
The helicopters were with the 2nd General Support Aviation Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment. In the wake of the crash, the National Guard announced that all training flights have been cancelled until further notice.
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Topics: US News, Military, Technology
