SALT LAKE CITY — Two Black Hawk helicopters crashed within a few hundred yards of a Utah ski resort Tuesday morning during a training exercise as skiers on a nearby lift watched a huge cloud of snow billow into the air.
Amazingly, none of men and women aboard the helicopter or the dozens of skiers nearby were injured, authorities said. Utah National Guard spokesman Jared Jones said that the crash occurred during a standard training exercise on U.S. Forest Service land just outside the boundaries of Snowbird Ski Resort, about 28 miles (47 kilometers) from Salt Lake City.
Joseph Schafer, a 23-year-old from Provo, heard the thud. He said it sounded similar to the blast noise from the explosives ski patrols set off to control avalanches, but realized it was a crash when he saw a helicopter's rotor fly out of the cloud of powder. He was thankful nobody was seriously hurt, but said skiers like him were sad when the resort closed lifts and trams near the crash site.
Other skiers and snowboarders taking advantage of post-Presidents Day weekend's fresh snow and clear skies said they also heard the boom and saw dust emanating from the crash site below their chairlift.
When it settled, some could see broken propeller blades in the wreckage.
Jani Radebaugh, another skier from Provo, said she and her husband saw the helicopters flying close to the ground in what looked like a formation. The couple turned around after the helicopters…
