A man was injured Sunday when the chair he was on detached from the chairlift and fell to the ground at Attitash Mountain Resort in New Hampshire.
Emergency personnel were called to the ski mountain on Route 302 in Bartlett around 12:15 p.m. Sunday for a report that a chair had detached from a chairlift and fallen to the ground, the State Fire Marshal’s Office said. It was also reported that one person was on the chair at the time of the incident and was injured.
Tramway inspectors with the fire marshal’s office responded and determined that an adult male was in the chair when it dislodged from the Flying Bear lift and fell about 20 feet. According to witnesses, the man was conscious and walking after the fall. He was assisted by ski patrol and taken to an area hospital with what officials said were non-life-threatening injuries.
He has since been released from the hospital, officials said Monday afternoon. Witnesses said he was walking after the fall.
Zach Hasbrouck was on the lift when the incident happened, saying he knew something was wrong when he got on.
“That’s super scary and it makes you think, what about the other mountains around here?” Hasbrouck said.
Erik Hanson | David Gunzburger
Based on the preliminary investigation, the fire marshal’s office said it appears a mechanical failure caused one of the chairs to dislodge from the cable. The manufacturer of the lift has been contacted and is responding to the ski resort to assist in the investigation.
No other injuries were reported. All of the other passengers who were on the lift at the time of the incident were unloaded normally at the top.
The incident remains under investigation by the fire marshal’s office and the Passenger Tramway Safety Board. It will include a review of the records of past inspections. New Hampshire state law requires mechanical lifts to be registered and inspected annually, with additional random checks during the year. The last state inspection was in November 2024, according to the fire marshal’s office.
The Flying Bear lift is closed while their investigation continues.
Vail Resorts, which operates Attitash, said it conducts daily safety checks on its lifts, in addition to the annual state inspections, done as recently as November.
Skiers who spoke to NBC10 Boston Monday said the scare won’t keep them away.
“You know, I get in the car, accidents happen. I’m a pilot, accidents happen. So there’s a risk,” said Aubrey Lieberman, who acknowledged thinking about it often.
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