Second pilot involved in New Jersey helicopter crash dies, both victims identified by police
(MGN)
A second helicopter pilot critically injured in a midair collision in South Jersey has died from his injuries, police said Monday. The other pilot involved in the crash died at the scene.
Hammonton Police identified the pilots as 65-year-old Kenneth L. Kirsch, of Carney’s Point, New Jersey, and 71-year-old Michael Greenberg of Sewell, New Jersey. Police said Kirsch was piloting an Enstrom model F-28A helicopter, and was flown to a hospital in critical condition after the crash.
According to police, Kirsch died from his injuries at the hospital.
Greenberg, who was piloting an Enstrom model 280C, was pronounced dead at the crash site near Basin Road and White Horse Pike in Atlantic County. The pilots were the only people on board both choppers, the Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday.
Both helicopters had taken off from Hammonton Municipal Airport shortly before the collision at 11:25 a.m. One of the choppers was completely engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived.
The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA are investigating the crash.
Investigators were back at the crash site early on Monday. A preliminary report from the NTSB could come as early as Monday. The agency said its investigation will focus on the “the pilot, the aircraft and the operating environment.”
“I just told him everything was going to be OK”
Following the crash, CBS News Philadelphia spoke with Caitlyn Collins, who said one of the helicopters landed in her backyard. Collins said she ran toward the wreckage and stayed with Kirsch, who later succumbed to his injuries, as first responders raced to the scene.
“I just held his hand, I just told him everything was going to be OK and everything was fine, and I told him — you know, you could hear the sirens — I said, they’re coming for you,” Collins said.
Other neighbors in the area helped direct emergency crews as they arrived at the crash site.
In a social media post, New Jersey Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill said, “My heart is broken for the family of the pilot killed in yesterday’s fatal helicopter crash in Hammonton. I am praying for the full and fast recovery of the other pilot injured and am grateful for the emergency responders on the ground.”
Sherrill is a former Navy helicopter pilot.
