UT National Guard Helicopter Blade Breaks, Flies Into 2nd Chopper

SNOWBIRD, UT — Two Utah National Guard helicopters crashed near Snowbird ski resort in Utah on Tuesday morning, officials said.

Two Utah National Guard black hawk helicopters which were performing routine winter mountain training were involved in the incident, which happened at an approved landing area, Jared Jones, aviation public affairs officer for the guard, told reporters at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

"There was obviously a lot of snow, or some snow last night, and as they landed, the snow kicked up and the aircraft lost sight of the ground," he said.

Portions of the rotor blade broke off of one helicopter and hurtled into the other helicopter, which was also trying to land, Jones said.

"Portions of the blade, of the lead helicopter, separated, and it appears struck the second helicopter, which was about to land," he said.

The second aircraft landed quickly in the landing zone, which has been used in the past by the Guard.

None of the six to eight crew members suffered any major injuries, though minor injuries were possible, said Jones. The crew took a tram down the mountain on their own and were checked out by medical personnel.

Both helicopters sustained damage, though no fuel spilled. The wrecks are under investigation.

A photo posted on Twitter by @LifterMIke93 showed two helicopters resting on a snowy mountainside as skiers and other people look on. Video showed the choppers flying close together near a ski resort just before they crashed.

Snowbird closed multiple ski lifts Tuesday morning, including Mineral Basin, Aerial Tram and Little Cloud.