2 Black Hawk helicopters extracted from Little Cottonwood Canyon after crash

Two Black Hawk helicopters have been removed from just outside of Snowbird in Little Cottonwood Canyon where they went down last week.

KSL-TV’s Chopper 5 followed the extraction at a distance, getting footage of the removal process of lifting the helicopters out of the canyon and then transferring them to Heber, where they are now on secure ground.

“It takes a lot of precision and careful planning to do this the right way,” Chief Warrant Officer Jared Jones said. “And fortunately the weather’s cooperating today.”

Jones and the crew of the Nevada Army National Guard Chinook had the experience to get the job done.

The Utah National Guard has a plan to get the helicopters back to West Jordan. They say they’ll utilize some flatbed trailers Thursday to make the trip.

The helicopters aren’t necessarily destined for the scrap heap. One of the next steps will be to see what is salvageable off of the two Black Hawks.

The crash occurred on Feb. 22. The Utah National Guard says no crew members were injured and both helicopters were damaged in the crash, which happened around 9:30 a.m. in the Mineral Basin, near Snowbird, in American Fork Canyon.

The incident remains under investigation.

1 of 4

2 of 4

3 of 4

4 of 4