Dec. 29 (UPI) — Two helicopters crashed in the air in New Jersey on Sunday, leaving both pilots dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two “collided in mid-air” near the Hammonton Municipal Airport at 11:25 a.m. EST Sunday, the Federal Aviation Administration<\/a> said. Hammonton is about 35 miles from Philadelphia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Only the pilots were on board<\/a>, the FAA said. The helicopters were an Enstrom F-28A and an Enstrom 280C. Both aircraft came down in a field about a mile and a half from the airport in Hammonton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Witnesses said the helicopters were flying close together just before the crash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The pilot of the 280C was Michael Greenberg, 71, of Sewell, N.J., and was pronounced dead at the scene, the Hammonton Police Department said<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The pilot of the F-28A was flown to Cooper University Hospital. He was Kenneth L. Kirsch, 65, of Carney’s Point, N.J. Kirsch died of his injuries at the hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hammonton Fire Department Chief Sean Macri told CNN earlier that when one of the victims was put into an ambulance, he was in “possible cardiac arrest.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Enstrom 280C lay charred on the ground. “It was hard to even tell it was a helicopter,” Macri said. It “looked like a pile of mangled metal that was on fire.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sen. Cory Booker<\/a>, D-N.J., said his office is in contact with the NTSB and is asking for more information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Reports of this morning’s fatal helicopter crash over South Jersey are horrifying and tragic,” Booker said on X<\/a>. “My heart is with those impacted and their families.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sen. Andy Kim<\/a>, D-N.J., said on X<\/a> on Sunday, “I’m heartbroken to learn of the fatal helicopter crash that occurred in Hammonton, N.J., earlier this morning. I know our community will rally behind the family of the individual who lost their life as we navigate this terrible tragedy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n