Utah National Guard helicopter crash-lands during training exercise, injuring 2 pilots

Two Utah National Guard pilots were taken to a local hospital Monday after a helicopter they were training in crash-landed.

The pilots were training for landings at South Valley Regional Airport in West Jordan when the “accident” happened at about 1:20 p.m., public affairs officer Lt. Col. Chris Kroeber said.

Given the type of training, they were “not necessarily very high in the air” before impact, Kroeber added. No further details were provided.

The crash involved an AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter, which seats two pilots. Both pilots hospitalized Monday were considered “stable,” though specifics on their conditions were not released.

The aircraft was damaged upon impact. At the scene, the downed helicopter appeared to lay on its side in a grassy field at the airport, with visible damage to its rotor system.

Firefighters and police responded to the wreck, but Kroeber said he was not aware of any damage to the airport or any resulting fires from the crash-landing.

“It was a routine mission, and obviously something went wrong,” Kroeber said. He noted that a safety investigation into the cause of the crash-landing has already begun.

“We’re confident in the processes that we take to investigate these accidents,” Kroeber said, adding, “We just do everything we can to make sure that we’re as safe as we can be.”

Nearly two years ago, on Feb. 21, 2022, two Utah National Guard Blackhawk helicopters crashed during a training exercise near Snowbird. No crew members were injured in the crash.