Two Black Hawk helicopters crashed near a Utah ski resort on Tuesday morning, scaring nearby skiers but miraculously no one was injured.
Utah National Guard UH-60 helicopters were reported to have crashed southeast of Snowbird ski resort just outside Salt Lake City. Utah National Guard spokesman Jared Jones said in a news conference Tuesday afternoon that it happened during a routine mountain training exercise and that he had to land about 150 yards from the ski area.
The Utah National Guard said in a tweet that both helicopters were damaged and the incident is being investigated.
Witness Robbie Shine told The Salt Lake Tribune that he was about 200 yards from the crash site, while another group of people he saw were "within feet" of a helicopter when it hit the ground.
“It was close. It was a very scary incident,” Shine told the Tribune. “I think they were intending to be further away in the landing zone. ...just glad it's all gone. ,
Video taken from a ski lift at the resort shows a cloud of powder and parts of a helicopter flying in the air, according to a video published by local outlet KUTV.
“They all got on the ground from a helicopter to the back helicopter. For 10 minutes no one came out of the back helicopter,” Jacob Oster, whose friend recorded the cell phone video, told KUTV. “It certainly did Shocked me."
According to the Associated Press, other witnesses saw rotors and debris from a helicopter flying in the direction of the ski lift from a powder cloud.
Skier Noah Sikorsky, 18, said he saw helicopters go down in a flat area often used for snowmobile lessons. The landing was controlled at first, but then he was alerted when debris headed towards the chairlift it was moving on. Later, he saw four National Guard members carrying a stretcher with gear and equipment.
Jones, along with the National Guard, stated that no fuel was spilled and that all training flights were canceled until further notice.
Two helicopter crashes involving the National Guard happened last year: in January, a UH-60 Black Hawk crashed during a training exercise in New York and killed three people. A month later, in Boise, Idaho, a similar accident killed three people.
The investigation into the accident is on and the vehicles will be removed from the area in the next few days.
"We train on shore so that we are prepared for a combat environment anywhere in the world and the crew takes some level of risk," Jones said. "Every time you fly a helicopter there's a little bit of danger in it. I'm glad all is well."