Helicopter crash-lands on Mount Morrison

By Doug Bell, High Timber Times

A helicopter crash-landed on Mount Morrison above Red Rocks early Sunday morning just after the Easter sunrise service at the amphitheater.

Two people aboard the chopper, a flight instructor and a student, suffered minor injuries when the copter went down around 7:30 a.m., said Cindy Matthews, spokeswoman for West Metro Fire. A May Day call had gone out from the copter saying it was heading for a concrete pad on Mount Morrison, Matthews said.

The craft ended up putting down on the side of the mountain, then tipped over, its blades cutting into the slope.

“We’re really fortunate, because both people walked away with minor injuries,” Matthews said.

Rescuers reached the site from an access road off Highway 74, and both people on the copter were taken to Swedish Medical Center in Denver with lacerations to their heads and hands.

Matthews said the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash. It was unclear why the helicopter was forced to land.

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