2 Blackhawk helicopters crash near Utah ski resort; no injuries reported

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Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Two Blackhawk helicopters flown by the Utah National Guard were involved in a training accident near a ski resort Tuesday, military officials said. No injuries were reported.

The accident involving a pair of UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters happened at around 9:30 a.m. MST in the Mineral Basin area near Snowbird Ski Resort, the National Guard said in a Twitter post.

Both UH-60s were damaged and the incident is under investigation, the Guard said.

The mishap was witnessed by several skiers at Snowbird who took to social media to document the crash.

One Twitter user posted a message describing witnessing the crash and commenting, "so sad. Hopefully everyone is ok - it flipped on landing maybe because of blowing snow obscuring landing area. Blade flew quite a ways into the trees."

Guard aviation spokesman Chief Warrant Officer Jared Jones later said the two helicopters were attempting to land in an approved training area about 150 yards away from Snowbird's boundaries when the accident happened.

"As they landed, the snow kicked up and the aircraft probably lost sight of the ground. We know there were portions of the rotor blade that separated from the helicopter and struck the second helicopter," he told KSL-TV.

The second helicopter was hit by pieces of the first helicopter but was quickly able to make a safe landing, he said, noting that both crews were able to walk away from the scene without injury.

What caused the rotor to separate from the first helicopter will be part of an investigation into the cause of the incident, Jones said.

"It could have been a lot worse," he told reporters. "The crew did some quick, deliberate thinking to get everyone down safely."