Authorities have named the two pilots who tragically lost their lives following a mid-air collision involving helicopters in southern New Jersey. Identified as Kenneth Kirsch, 65, and Michael Greenberg, 71, both individuals were residents of New Jersey and often frequented a cafe near the crash location in Hammonton, approximately 56 kilometers southeast of Philadelphia.
Hammonton Police Chief Kevin Friel confirmed that Kirsch succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital after being airlifted there, while Greenberg tragically passed away at the scene of the collision. The incident, described by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a mid-air crash involving an Enstrom F-28A helicopter and an Enstrom 280C helicopter over Hammonton Municipal Airport, had only the pilots aboard each aircraft.
Notably, Sal Silipino, the proprietor of a nearby cafe, revealed that the pilots were regular customers at his establishment. Witnessing the helicopters’ departure, Silipino recounted how one aircraft began descending uncontrollably, followed by the second, leaving onlookers stunned by the tragic event.
Situated in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Hammonton is a town with a population of around 15,000 people, known for its agricultural roots and proximity to the expansive Pine Barrens wilderness covering over 405,000 hectares. The FAA and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have been alerted and are set to investigate the crash, as stated by Chief Friel.
Investigators are expected to scrutinize any communications between the pilots and assess their visibility of each other, according to Alan Diehl, a former crash investigator for the FAA and NTSB. Diehl emphasized that most mid-air collisions result from a failure to visually detect and evade other aircraft, indicating a focus on the pilots’ external viewpoints to ascertain if one pilot approached from an obscured angle.
Despite cloudy conditions during the incident, meteorological reports from AccuWeather revealed light winds and favorable visibility at the time of the collision.