A midair collision between two helicopters over southern New Jersey on Sunday claimed the life of one pilot and left another with life-threatening injuries, authorities said, after the aircraft went down near a municipal airport in Hammonton.
Emergency crews were dispatched to the scene shortly after 11:25 a.m. following calls of an aviation accident near Hammonton Municipal Airport, Police Chief Kevin Friel said. Video circulating from the area shows one helicopter spinning violently before slamming into the ground, where flames quickly erupted. Firefighters extinguished the blaze as responders secured the wreckage.
Federal aviation officials identified the aircraft as an Enstrom F-28A and an Enstrom 280C that collided while airborne above the airport. Each helicopter was carrying only its pilot. One pilot was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other was rushed to a hospital with critical injuries.
Witnesses described a sudden and chaotic scene as the helicopters departed the area moments before the crash. Sal Silipino, who owns a nearby café, said the pilots were familiar faces who often stopped in for breakfast together. He said customers watched the aircraft lift off before one began spiraling downward, followed moments later by the second.
“It was shocking,” Silipino said. “I’m still shaking.”
Another witness, Hammonton resident Dan Dameshek, said he had just exited a gym when he heard a loud snapping sound and looked up to see both helicopters losing control in midair.
“The first helicopter flipped upside down and started spinning rapidly as it fell,” Dameshek told NBC10. “The second one looked stable for a moment, then there was another snap, and it also began spinning out of the sky.”
The crash occurred in Hammonton, a town of about 15,000 residents in Atlantic County, roughly 35 miles southeast of Philadelphia. The community sits near the Pine Barrens, a vast forested region known for its rural landscape and open airspace.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are leading the investigation, Friel said. Aviation safety specialists will examine flight paths, pilot communications and visibility conditions to determine what led to the collision.
Alan Diehl, a former investigator with the FAA and NTSB, said midair crashes are most often linked to breakdowns in visual awareness between pilots.
“Virtually all midair collisions come down to a failure to ‘see and avoid,’” Diehl said, adding that investigators will closely analyze cockpit sightlines and whether either aircraft approached from a blind angle.
Weather conditions at the time were not considered a major factor. AccuWeather said skies were mostly cloudy, with light winds and good visibility across the area.
AP
