Mar. 15, 2019 8:38 a.m.
No one was hurt after a chartered helicopter with 12 people aboard made a bad landing and rolled this week in eastern B.C.
Bob Sayer, operations manager and senior guide with Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing, says the accident near Blue River occurred when the pilot “lost reference” and couldn’t see the ground.
READ MORE: Helicopter ‘lands hard’ in mountains near Pitt Meadows, B.C.
Sayer says the helicopter was less than three metres in the air and rolled over in the snow. He flew in with another helicopter, collected the group and returned to the lodge in Blue River.
Rollovers are unusual, he says, but they are not unknown.
The Transportation Safety Board has sent investigators to review what happened, but Sayer says the onsite probe wrapped up within hours and the skiers were eager to get back to the slopes.