Midair helicopter crash in New Jersey leaves one person dead and another injured, officials say
By Gordon Ebanks, Toni Odejimi, CNN
Two helicopters crashed midair in southern New Jersey on Sunday, leaving one person dead and injuring another, officials said.
The aircraft, an Enstrom F-28A and an Enstrom 280C helicopter, “collided in mid-air” at about 11:25 a.m. near Hammonton Municipal Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Only the pilots were on board the helicopters when they collided, according to the statement.
The helicopters came down in a field in Hammonton and both victims were airlifted to the trauma center, Hammonton Fire Department Chief Sean Macri told CNN.
One of the victims was in “possible cardiac arrest” when he was taken aboard an ambulance, according to Macri.
Video from CNN affiliate WPVI shows police tape surrounding pieces of mangled aircraft, with long helicopter blades jutting out of the ground. Papers and clothes litter the field next to the badly damaged red Enstrom F-28A, while the white body of the Enstrom 280C sits close by, charred beyond recognition.
“It was hard to even tell it was a helicopter,” Macri said. The Enstrom 280C “looked like a pile of mangled metal that was on fire.”
The National Transportation Safety Board said it has opened an investigation into the crash, sending an investigator to the scene to gather flight track data, aircraft maintenance records, communications with air traffic control, witness statements and more.
“After the wreckage of both helicopters are documented, they will then be moved to a secure facility for further evaluation,” the NTSB said.
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker said his office is in contact with the NTSB and is requesting more information about the crash.
“Reports of this morning’s fatal helicopter crash over South Jersey are horrifying and tragic,” Booker wrote on social media. “My heart is with those impacted and their families.”
Sen. Andy Kim said he was “heartbroken” to learn of the crash in his state, writing in a social media post the community “will rally behind the family of the individual who lost their life as we navigate this terrible tragedy.”
Hammonton, located in Atlantic County, is about 35 miles from Philadelphia and sits near the New Jersey Pine Barrens, a vast area of forested wilderness.
The Hammonton Fire Department has asked bystanders to avoid the area while emergency services respond to the incident.
This story has been updated with additional information.
The-CNN-Wire
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