AS350-B3 collision with terrain near Palmer
An AS350-B3 serving a heli-ski area encountered whiteout during a ridgeline landing attempt near Palmer and collided with terrain. Five occupants died and one was seriously injured.
At a glance
- Date
- 2021-03-27
- Location
- Near Palmer, Alaska, US
- Activity
- Heli skiing
- Operational phase
- Landing
- Categories
- Aviation
- Fatalities
- 5
- Serious injuries
- 1
- Party size
- 6
- Operator
- Tordrillo Mountain Lodge
- Flight operator
- Soloy Helicopters
- Investigation authority
- NTSB
- Investigation ID
- WPR21FA143
Aircraft
- Airbus Helicopters · AS350-B3 · AS350 · N351SH · Involved
People by role
- Guest
- 5
- Pilot
- 1
Confirmed facts
- The lodge contracted the helicopter to transport passengers to a heli-ski area.
- The helicopter collided with terrain during a ridgeline landing attempt.
Timeline
2021-03-27
Occurrence
An AS350-B3 serving a heli-ski area encountered whiteout during a ridgeline landing attempt near Palmer and collided with terrain. Five occupants died and one was seriously injured.
What remains unknown
- The archive uses the lodge name as activity operator pending legal-name review.
Sources
National Transportation Safety Board · Tier A · Primary source · Final investigation · EN
Published 27/09/2023 · Accessed 22/08/2026
Rights note: US government report; link and attribute.
Revision history
- v2 · 22/08/2026 — Published from approved import batch incident-pilot-2026-08.
Corrections and right of reply
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