Christie Brinkley is discussing her 1994 helicopter crash in Colorado's San Juan Mountains, an event she details in her new memoir "Uptown Girl." The model believes a small amount of dirt she was carrying from Chimayo, New Mexico, may have played a role in her survival during the near-fatal accident.
The crash happened during a heli-skiing tour. The helicopter took an unexpected turn and plunged hundreds of feet before striking a mountain side. The impact reportedly split the cabin into two sections. Brinkley wrote about the experience, describing the chaos and the feeling of being pinned down.
Brinkley had visited El Santuario de Chimayo, a site known for its "holy dirt" and believed healing properties, two weeks before the crash. Feeling uneasy before boarding the helicopter, she sprinkled some of the dirt on the aircraft. She told Fox News Digital she said, "Oh magic dirt, do your stuff, take good care of all of us on this helicopter this day."
During the crash, Brinkley feared being struck by the helicopter blades. After the initial impact, the wreckage began to slide down the mountain towards a cliff. Brinkley's seat belt had tangled around her ski boot, dragging her along. Just feet from the edge, the helicopter stopped, reportedly blocked by a snowbank.
All six people aboard the helicopter survived the crash. Rescue helicopters arrived within an hour to transport the group to a medical center. Investigators later called their survival "nothing short of a miracle," according to Brinkley's book.
The aftermath of the crash included struggles with PTSD for Brinkley. She found herself overwhelmingly grateful for her life and family, particularly her daughter Alexa Ray Joel. The crash also occurred as her marriage to Billy Joel was strained, leading to their divorce later that year. She briefly married Richard Taubman, another survivor of the crash, but that marriage also ended.
In her memoir, Brinkley also recounts an earlier tragedy: the death of Olivier Chandon de Brailles, heir to the Moët-Hennessy fortune, in a 1983 race car crash. Their romance was prominent in the early 1980s. His death prompted Brinkley to take a break from her modeling career and turn down a film role. She met Billy Joel shortly before Chandon de Brailles' death, and their relationship began after he offered condolences.
Brinkley also shared reflections on health and aging, mentioning she recently became vegan after being a lifelong vegetarian. She described this dietary change positively, noting it has improved her well-being.
