New Jersey: Helicopter crash leaves one dead and one seriously injured

A crash between two helicopters in New Jersey left one dead and one critically injured. The event occurred on Sunday morning in the town of Hammonton, with approximately 15,000 inhabitants, located in Atlantic County. As for the injured man, local authorities said he suffered critical and life-threatening injuries.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the incident was between an Enstrom F-28A helicopter and an Enstrom 280C helicopter over Hammonton Municipal Airport. Only the pilots were aboard each aircraft. The agency also specified that both "collided in midair" near Hammonton Municipal Airport.

Kevin Friel, Hammonton police chief, said rescue crews responded to a call alerting them to a plane crash at around 11:25 a.m. Police and firefighters quickly extinguished the flames engulfing one of the helicopters. The investigation into the incident will be led by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Tahesha Way, lieutenant governor of New Jersey, spoke on X about the crash: "I have been updated on a mid-air collision involving two helicopters in Hammonton. The Atlantic County Office of Emergency Management, Hammonton Police Department, and NJSP personnel are on the scene."

"Immediately, the first helicopter went from right side up to upside down and started rapidly spinning, falling out of the air. And then it looked like the second helicopter was OK for a second, and then it sounded like another snap or something ... and then that helicopter started rapidly spinning out of the air," Hammonton resident Dan Dameshek stated while speaking to NBC10.

The town of Hammonton is also very close to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, just 35 miles away.