Midair helicopter collision in Hammonton under investigation

🚨 Midair helicopter collision near Hammonton leaves one dead

🚨 Crash occurred moments after takeoff from Hammonton Municipal Airport

🚨 The pilots knew each other and had breakfast before takeoff

HAMMONTON — The pilots died after their helicopter collided near a South Jersey airport.

Hammonton police chief Kevin Friel said the choppers collided about a minute after takeoff from Hammonton Municipal Airport. Pilot Michael Greenberg, 71, of Sewell was pronounced dead at the crash scene on Sunday. Kenneth L. Kirsch, 65, of Carneys Point died on Monday, according to Friel.

FAA records show one of the choppers, an Enstrom F-28A, was registered to Kirsch. The other chopper, an Enstrom 280C, is registered to M&M Charter of Mountville, Pennsylvania. Both helicopters flew from Vineland to Hammonton earlier in the morning, according to FlightAware.com. Only the pilots were on board the respective helicopters.

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FAA records identify helicopters involved in Hammonton crash

Early reports indicate the aircraft were flying close together shortly after departure from Hammonton Airport, which may have led to the collision, Friel told reporters on Sunday. Witnesses said the helicopters were also flying lower than usual for a helicopter.

Sal Silipino, owner of the Apron Cafe at the airport, told Fox Philadelphia that Greenburg and Kirsch had breakfast together before taking off and were regulars who flew in to Hammonton every other week.

Former NTSB crash investigator Alan Diehl says investigators will likely first look at communications between the pilots.

“Virtually all midair collisions are a failure to what they call ‘see and avoid,’” Diehl said. “Clearly they’ll be looking at the out-of-cockpit views of the two aircraft and seeing if one pilot was approaching from the blind side.”

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