Gondola cabin crashes during testing at Copper Mountain

A gondola cabin on the yet-to-open American Eagle lift at Copper Mountain Resort broke free Monday morning and crashed to the ground just after exiting the base terminal.

A statement from the resort said the lift is currently under construction and the incident happened during testing. Because it was not open to the public, no one was injured.

A review by Leitner-Poma, the manufacturer and construction contractor, indicated that no critical components were damaged and the resort does not anticipate any delays as a result of the mishap, the statement reads.

“The safety of our employees, contractors and guests is our number one priority,” the resort continued. “Copper is working closely with the Leitner-Poma team and the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board to ensure that, once completed, the American Eagle lift will operate safely and reliably.”

The American Eagle Lift was a high-speed quad that the resort replaced with a Leitner-Poma high-speed lift earlier this year. It features a combo of six-person chairs and eight-person gondola cabins.

The new lift is supposed to increase uphill capacity by over 40 percent.