Two helicopters collided midair on Sunday near Hammonton Municipal Airport in the U.S. state of New Jersey, leaving one pilot dead and another critically injured, authorities have confirmed.<\/p>\n
According to Hammonton Police Chief Kevin Friel, emergency crews responded to reports of an aviation accident at about 11:25 a.m. Video footage from the scene showed one helicopter spinning rapidly before crashing to the ground, followed shortly by the second aircraft. Firefighters extinguished flames that broke out after impact.<\/p>\n
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) identified the aircraft as an Enstrom F-28A helicopter and an Enstrom 280C helicopter. Only the pilots were on board at the time of the collision. One pilot was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other was airlifted to hospital with life-threatening injuries.<\/p>\n
Witnesses described a sudden and shocking incident. Sal Silipino, who owns a caf\u00e9 near the airport, said the pilots were familiar faces who regularly dined together. He said patrons watched the helicopters take off moments before one began spiraling downward, followed by the second aircraft.<\/p>\n
Local resident Dan Dameshek told U.S. media he heard a loud snapping sound and looked up to see both helicopters losing control in the air.<\/p>\n
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have launched a joint investigation into the crash. Aviation experts say investigators will likely examine pilot communications, visibility conditions and whether both pilots were able to see and avoid each other.<\/p>\n
Although skies were mostly cloudy at the time, weather officials reported good visibility and light winds, suggesting weather may not have been a primary factor.<\/p>\n
Hammonton, a town of roughly 15,000 residents in Atlantic County, lies about 35 miles southeast of Philadelphia and is known for its agricultural history and proximity to the Pine Barrens.<\/p>\n
Authorities say further details will be released as the investigation progresses.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Two helicopters collided midair on Sunday near Hammonton Municipal Airport in the U.S. state of New Jersey, leaving one pilot dead and another critically injured, authorities have confirmed. According to Hammonton Police Chief Kevin Friel, emergency crews responded to reports of an aviation accident at about 11:25 a.m. Video footage from the scene showed one<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_1160854738579181570_1160854738579181570":"","facebook_3558452337540614_100649324928663":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,239],"tags":[2580,1211,1084,2163,2582,2581,1087],"class_list":{"0":"post-14859","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-breaking-news","8":"category-usa-canada","9":"tag-accidents","10":"tag-aviation","11":"tag-breaking-news","12":"tag-new-jersey","13":"tag-safety","14":"tag-transportation","15":"tag-united-states"},"yoast_head":"\n