Cedar City Santa Helicopter Tradition Faces Safety Concerns After Close Call

CEDAR CITY, Utah — Santa’s arrival in a helicopter on Main Street has been a cherished Cedar City tradition for years, but this year’s event took an unexpected turn. During the festivities, a piece of debris struck the helicopter, leading to a hasty takeoff.

Witness Steve Holm observed the commotion as the helicopter approached. “The helicopter comes down, it’s 20-30 feet off the ground or whatever, and then it just goes back up. And everybody’s like, okay, so is he going to come around and circle down and touch down again?” Holm recounted.

As the situation unfolded, Holm remarked, “Hey, a piece of material hit that helicopter. By now, the helicopter was gone. We don’t have time to be scared, right? I mean, it was gone out of the way, and then we’re sitting here like that could have been really, really bad.”

Another attendee, Cedar City resident Amy Pichette, shared her startling experience. “It reminds me of Final Destination… this could have been ridiculous,” she said. Pichette was recording the event when debris struck her hand, causing her phone to fly away. “My hand is just dripping blood,” she added.

After the incident, she sought medical attention for stitches but was grateful it wasn’t worse. “If my hand wasn’t there, that would have hit my daughter in the face,” she explained, referring to her children who were present during the event.

Michael Mower from Southern Utah University, the operator of the helicopter, provided insight into the incident. “As we started coming into the landing zone, it looks like something blew off the roof of some new construction and just came down through the rotor system,” he stated. The pilot made the decision to abort the landing out of caution and safely redirected to a nearby airport.

Mower noted that the construction of a hotel near the landing zone was a key factor in the mishap. He indicated that the crew had surveyed the area beforehand. “The biggest change from this year to years past was really the progress on that hotel that’s going in right there on Main Street,” he said.

Regarding the materials that caused the incident, Mower said, “Not entirely sure what type of material it was… it appears to be some roofing membrane, that plastic membrane that they put on the roofs to waterproof them. It was instantly just chopped up into a million little pieces.”

Fortunately, there were no injuries onboard the helicopter. However, Mower stressed the importance of reassessing safety protocols for future events. “There’s no way around it, aviation is dangerous and can be dangerous. We do everything we can to take the appropriate precautions,” he said.

Despite the incident, some residents expressed a desire to continue the tradition. Holm shared his exhilaration, saying, “It’s an absolute rush when you’re that close to a helicopter” while others, like Pichette, believed a sleigh and reindeer might be a safer alternative. “Don’t land a helicopter on Main Street. There’s parking garages, there’s parks, there’s huge areas,” she suggested.

The Cedar City officials stated that they would take time to determine whether the helicopter tradition would continue next year.