A helicopter transporting guests from a mountain chalet crashed on a glacier at Denali National Park and Preserve on Thursday afternoon, according to the National Park Service.
Neither the two guests nor the pilot were injured in the crash on Ruth Glacier, the park service said in a statement, though a National Transportation Safety Board official said one person sustained a minor injury. The NTSB is investigating the crash.
Around 3 p.m. Thursday, the Robinson R44 helicopter operated by Talkeetna Air Taxi took off from the Sheldon Chalet, a small luxury hotel located on a private inholding within Denali National Park, according to the park service. The helicopter crashed on the glacier, near the chalet, shortly after taking off, the park service said.
Clint Johnson, NTSB Alaska chief, said that the helicopter was returning to Talkeetna and that one passenger reported a minor injury.
Chalet staff who saw the crash happen activated an emergency transponder, and Denali National Park personnel were notified of the crash around 3:20 p.m., the park service said. The request for help was canceled after chalet staff confirmed everyone on board was OK, according to the park service.
The damaged helicopter will be removed from the area next week if weather permits, according to the park service, which said that “there was no significant impact to natural resources reported.”
The 1,000-square-foot Sheldon Chalet opened in February 2018. It sits a short distance from the much smaller Don Sheldon Mountain House, which was built in 1966 and is named after the legendary glacier pilot. Both lie on a rocky outcropping above the Ruth Glacier, which the park service described as a popular location in the Alaska Range “due to the presence of air-taxi landing areas and its proximity to many prominent climbing peaks.”
Robert Sheldon, owner of Mountain House, LLC, where the helicopter took off, said that based on what he knew from witnesses at the site, the helicopter "had an unplanned landing,” but it was not a crash.
“There was no loss of life and everyone walked away and the helicopter simply ended up on its side,” Sheldon said.
Johnson, of the NTSB, said that given the amount of damage to the helicopter, the agency is classifying it as an accident.
“There was substantial damage to the aircraft and that classifies an accident,” Johnson said. “So this is an accident. No doubt about that.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
The site of the Don Sheldon Mountain House, photographed in 2010. (NPS photo)
2020-02-22 02:10:52Z
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2020/02/22/none-injured-after-helicopter-crashes-at-ruth-glacier-in-denali-national-park/
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