SEA94LA073

Soon after landing on the snow covered ridge to pick up some skiers, the pilot became uncomfortable with his selected landing site. He therefore attempted to initiate a takeoff, so as to relocate to a more suitable location. As he began his lift-off, the snow pack at the landing site broke loose from the ridge. As the snow pack gave way, the main rotor system impacted the terrain, and the helicopter rolled down the hill side for about 800 feet.

On February 26, 1994, approximately 1430 mountain standard time (MST), a Bell 206 helicopter, N2752U, collided with the terrain during an attempted takeoff from a snowfield about 10 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant of the aircraft, received minor injuries, and the helicopter sustained substantial damage. The FAR Part 135 passenger flight, which had just landed to pick up some snow skiers, was operating in visual meteorological conditions at the time of the accident. The pilot was on a company VFR flight plan, and there was no report of an ELT activation.

According to the pilot, he had just landed on a snowfield ridge in the Oquirrh Mountains, but did not feel comfortable with the site he had chosen. He therefore decided to depart that site, and pick up the skiers at a different location. As he was initiating the takeoff, the portion of the snowfield that the aircraft was on broke loose, and began sliding down the side of the mountain. The pilot attempted to lift off, but the main rotor blades contacted the snow pack, and the aircraft settled onto the snowfield, and tumbled about 800 feet down the mountain.