Two helicopters crashed midair in New Jersey on Sunday, killing one person and critically injuring another, authorities say. (Photo: X/@EricLDaugh) One person was killed and another was critically injured after two helicopters collided midair on Sunday in the town of Hammonton, authorities said.
Hammonton Police Chief Kevin Friel said emergency crews responded to reports of an aviation crash at about 11:25 a.m. He said one of the helicopters caught fire after the crash and police and firefighters put out the flames.
The US Federal Aviation Administration said the crash involved an Enstrom F-28A helicopter and an Enstrom 280C helicopter over Hammonton Municipal Airport. Only the pilots were on board. One pilot died, and the other was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to authorities.
BREAKING: Two helicopters collided and crashed in southern New Jersey, killing one person and sending another to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. pic.twitter.com/UrqcB6AbHv
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Sal Silipino, who owns a café near the site, told AP that the pilots often visited his restaurant. He said he and customers saw the helicopters take off before one began spiralling downwards, followed by the other. “It was shocking,” he said. “I’m still shaking after that happened.”
Hammonton resident Dan Dameshek told NBC10 that he heard “a loud snap” and then saw the helicopters spinning in the air. “Immediately, the first helicopter went from right side up to upside down and started rapidly spinning,” he said. He added that the second helicopter also began spinning after another “snap”.
Friel said the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.
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A former FAA and NTSB crash investigator, Alan Diehl, told AP that investigators will likely review communications between the pilots and whether they were able to see each other. “Virtually all midair collisions are a failure to what they call ‘see and avoid’,” he said.
Hammonton is a town in southern New Jersey in Atlantic County, about 35 miles southeast of Philadelphia.
