A Black Hawk helicopter carrying three members of the Alaska Army National Guard crashed in a snowstorm on Monarch Pass, west of Salida, on Thursday.
All three people on board — the pilot, the co-pilot and the crew chief — walked away from the crash, Alaska Guard spokeswoman Kalei Brooks said.
Photos sent in from the scene show the helicopter lying on its belly in deep snow among a stand of trees. The helicopter’s main rotor blades appear to be shorn off.
Brooks said the helicopter had been at Fort Carson, south of Colorado Springs, for routine maintenance and was heading to a base in Pocatello, Idaho.
“The maintenance inspection was completed, so they had left Fort Carson on their way to Alaska,” she said.
The helicopter went down shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday in heavy snow and with limited visibility on the pass. Chaffee County Undersheriff Keith Pinkston said sheriff’s deputies did not receive any emergency calls about the crash but instead learned about it through National Guard officials, who were apparently notified by the crew members.
Brooks said weather is not believed to be a factor in the accident. A special team of Army investigators is traveling to the scene to examine the wreckage and determine the cause, Brooks said.
John Ingold: 303-954-1068 or jingold@denverpost.com
