CHICAGO (WBBM) — Two National Guard pilots managed to escape with their lives after the Black Hawk helicopters they were flying collided near a Utah ski resort on Tuesday.
The airborne crash — which involved two UH-60 Black Hawks — occurred at about 9:30 a.m. during a training exercise near Mineral Basin, the Utah National Guard reported. The basin, which is part of the Snowbird Ski Resort about 30 miles from Salt Lake City, was shut down after the incident.
Chief Warrant Officer Jared Jones, 97th Aviation Troop public affairs officer, said the helicopters were attempting to land during routine winter survivability and mobility mountain training on U.S. Forest Service land.
"Upon short finals landing, it was obviously a lot of snow, or some snow last night, and as they landed there was snow kicked up and the aircraft probably lost sight of the ground," Jones said during a press conference. "We know that there were portions of the rotor blade that separated from the helicopter and struck the second helicopter."
Video posted to Twitter shows the crash occur in a cloud of snow. Another video taken from a ski lift shows just how close the crash happened to those skiing nearby.
Photos from the aftermath show one Black Hawk sitting upright with the other on its side without its main rotor blades.
"Everyone is safe," Jones added. "It was a blessing that everyone was OK."
Although a rep for the National Guard says neither pilot was injured, details regarding their escape and the extent of the damage to their helicopters have not yet been revealed.
Jones said the crew was training in an approved landing zone they've used for similar missions several times before, and that no civilians were in danger.
The crash remains under investigation.
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