Second pilot dies after midair helicopter collision in New Jersey
A second pilot involved in a midair helicopter collision in New Jersey on Sunday has died, according to authorities.
The crash occurred at around 11:25 a.m. when two helicopters collided shortly after departing from Hammonton Municipal Airport, according to the Hammonton Police Department. The collision involved an Enstrom 280C and an Enstrom F-28A, which both crash-landed in a field and nearby tree line in the 100 block of Basin Road.
Police said one of the helicopters was engulfed in flames after the crash and was extinguished by the Hammonton Volunteer Fire Department. The other helicopter came down in a tree line, where local residents helped remove the pilot before police and AtlantiCare EMS arrived.
Authorities identified the pilot of the Enstrom F-28A as 65-year-old Kenneth L. Kirsch of Carney’s Point, New Jersey. Police said Kirsch was flown by medical helicopter to Cooper Hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
The pilot of the Enstrom 280C was identified as 71-year-old Michael Greenberg of Sewell, New Jersey, and was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.
Witnesses told investigators the two helicopters were flying close together shortly before the collision. The crash site was located about a mile and a half from the airport in a farm field.
Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have responded to the scene and are investigating the cause of the crash.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
