On Monday, authorities released the identities of two pilots who tragically lost their lives in a midair collision of their helicopters in southern New Jersey. The victims were identified as Kenneth Kirsch, 65, and Michael Greenberg, 71, who both resided in New Jersey and shared a friendship that included frequent breakfast meetings at a cafe near the crash site in Hammonton, located approximately 35 miles (56 kilometers) southeast of Philadelphia.
Hammonton Police Chief Kevin Friel confirmed in a statement that Kirsch, from Carney's Point, was pronounced dead at a local hospital after being transported, while Greenberg, from Sewell, died at the scene of the accident. Eyewitness accounts described both helicopters flying in close proximity to each other moments before the crash occurred. The incident took place about a mile and a half from the Hammonton Municipal Airport in a nearby farm field.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) arrived at the crash site on Monday to begin their assessment of the incident. According to Chief Friel, emergency responders reacted to a report of the aviation crash around 11:25 a.m. on Sunday. Video footage captured from the scene revealed one helicopter spinning rapidly toward the ground, prompting police and fire crews to extinguish the flames that engulfed one of the aircraft.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) classified the collision as involving an Enstrom F-28A helicopter and an Enstrom 280C helicopter. Notably, the only individuals aboard the helicopters were the respective pilots. Sal Silipino, the owner of a nearby cafe, remarked that the two pilots were regular patrons who often dined together. He recounted witnessing the helicopters launch from the ground prior to noticing one entering a descending spiral followed shortly by the second helicopter.
Eye witness Dan Dameshek shared his observations with NBC10, recalling the moment he heard a loud snap while leaving a gym. He stated that he saw the first helicopter flipping upside down and spiraling out of control. Soon after, he noted that the second helicopter appeared stable for a brief moment before it too began to spiral downwards, accompanied by another loud noise.
Hammonton, with a population of roughly 15,000, is situated in Atlantic County in southern New Jersey. The area is historically agricultural and lies close to the Pine Barrens, a large forested wilderness region that spans more than 1 million acres (405,000 hectares).
In assessing the crash, investigators are expected to prioritize a review of any communications exchanged between the two pilots and whether or not they had visual contact with one another. Alan Diehl, a former crash investigator for the FAA and NTSB, highlighted that the majority of midair collisions usually result from a failure of pilots to "see and avoid" one another. Consequently, investigators will likely analyze the perspectives from the cockpits of the two aircraft to determine if one pilot was approaching from a blind spot.
Despite the fact that conditions were mostly cloudy during the collision, wind speeds were light and visibility was reported as good, according to AccuWeather, a weather forecasting service.
