‘I was freaking out’; Helicopter crashes in Herriman field after mechanical issue
Jul 13, 2024, 12:13 PM | Updated: Jul 15, 2024, 1:48 pm
HERRIMAN — A helicopter went down in a Herriman field after experiencing a mechanical issue during a training flight Saturday.
According to the Utah Fire Authority, the helicopter had problems with its autorotation. It resulted in an emergency landing near 13559 South and Blayde Drive shortly before 11 a.m.
There were two people in the craft at the time of the crash — one pilot and one copilot.
“Thankfully nobody was hurt, other than a very minor leg injury, but they both walked away,” Clark said.
Neighbors nearby the field witnessed the accident and even obtained footage of the crash on house cameras. Brecken Ogden said he and his dad watched the helicopter before it landed; at first believing it was landing there on purpose.
“My dad was like ‘Woa look at this, the helicopter’s going to land in the field, this is kinda cool,'” Ogden said.
He said the chopper became unsteady and hit the ground tail first, completely removing the tail. In video footage from Ogden’s neighbor Troy Harward, the debris fallen off the chopper can be seen spinning out and then landing further away in the field.
“I was freaking out, I kinda … I didn’t know what to think and then I ran and jumped the fence to the field to see if they were OK and it was kind of nerve-wracking. But it didn’t look like totally mangled so I was like ‘Oh, they could be OK,” Ogden said.
When Ogden made it to the craft, the pilot and copilot hadn’t had a chance to get out yet, and opened their doors to Ogden who then asked if they were hurt.
“The pilot actually did a great job of landing it the way he did,” Ogden said. “He could have (messed) up way more and caused a fire or something, you know?”
This is a breaking news story. It may be updated.
