2 injured when helicopter rolls near Knik Glacier

Two people were injured when a helicopter rolled near the Knik Glacier on Tuesday, an official from the National Transportation Safety Board said.

Six passengers and a pilot were in the Airbus AS350 B3 when it rolled during a flightseeing tour around 11 a.m., said Clint Johnson, chief of the safety board’s Alaska office.

The helicopter was operated by Alpha Aviation, authorities said. Mike Neely, the company’s general manager, described the crash as the “best-case scenario in an unfortunate situation” and said that no one experienced major injuries.

The crash happened during a “hard, unscheduled landing” in the southwest area of Lake George, Neely said.

Alpha Aviation used another of their helicopters to pick up the seven people from the crash site, Neely said. Two were treated for minor injuries at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center and the others declined medical treatment, he said.

The helicopter was substantially damaged, Johnson said. Officials with Alpha Aviation were working on recovering the wreckage Wednesday, Neely said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the helicopter to roll, but Johnson said his agency is investigating.

Knik Glacier is a popular place for flightseeing tours located about 50 miles east of Anchorage on the northern edge of the Chugach Mountains.