Utah Helicopter Crash

[Heli-Ops]

Helicopter crash (Utah)

 

A helicopter being used in the filming of a new movie starring Academy Award winning actor Anthony Hopkins crashed outside the town of Vernon in Tooele County on Saturday during filming. No injuries were reported.The helicopter was carrying the pilot and at least one other passenger when it flew over a knoll about 3:30 p.m. and into a power line, Tooele County Sheriff's Sgt. Brad Patch said. The windshield struck the power line first, setting the helicopter down hard on State Route 36 near Dunbar railroad crossing, about 10 miles south of Vernon.

 

The impact caused the rotors to come off, severing the helicopter's tail

wing, Patch said. However, the aircraft remained upright. "He made a very good crash landing," said Patch. The   pilot apparently didn't see the power line, which runs about 40 feet above the ground and 200 yards from pole to pole, Patch said.

 

At the time of the crash, the pilot was scouting areas near Vernon to shoot the next scene in the upcoming movie, "The Fastest Indian." The movie stars Hopkins as New Zealand motorcycle legend Burt Munro, who in 1962, raced his modified 1920 Indian Scout motorcycle across the Bonneville Salt Flats and set a new world land speed record.

 

Hopkins was not on the film set when the crash occurred, but his stunt

double was, Patch said. WFI Productions, which is making the film, rented the helicopter from Park City Helicopter, he said. The production company has been shooting in Tooele County, including Wendover, for about a month. Crews from Park City Helicopter were called to remove the crashed helicopter from the road.