HAMMONTON, N.J. — Two pilots were killed after their helicopters collided in midair over Hammonton, New Jersey on Sunday.
Michael Greenberg, 71, of Sewell, N.J. was pronounced dead at the scene.
Kenneth L. Kirsch, 65, of Carneys Point, N.J. was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The crash happened around 11:25 a.m. near the intersection of Route 30 and Basin Road, about a mile from the Hammonton Municipal Airport.
Both helicopters went down in a nearby field, with one bursting into flames, police said.
Chief Kevin Friel of the Hammonton Police Department said early reports indicate the aircraft were flying close together shortly after departure.
“Reports were that they were flying in tandem, that they were flying close together, which is probably what caused the collision to occur,” Friel said.
Aerial footage shows aftermath of deadly helicopter collision on Dec. 28, 2025.
The helicopters – an Enstrom F-28A piloted by Kirsch, and an Enstrom 280C piloted by Greenberg – had just lifted off after the pilots stopped for breakfast at the airport café, where they were regular customers, according to the café’s owner.
“They were just at our café having breakfast, they’re regulars, they come in, they seem to be very nice people,” said Sal Silipino, owner of the Apron Cafe. “I saw one go down, and then I saw the other one go down and it was a little disbelief, like, ‘Is that really happening?'”
Witnesses across the area described seeing the helicopters flying unusually close before the collision.
“They were flying lower than I would presume a helicopter would be, and they were flying really close together, like too close,” said Diana Cleuff of Shamong, New Jersey. “I say to myself, ‘My God, I hope they are just flying too close, I hope they don’t clip each other.’ And the minute I said it to myself, the impact occurred.”
Cleuff said she watched in horror as one helicopter crashed and the other appeared to struggle in the air.
“It was horrifying, I watched the one just crash and the other one, I felt horrible because he was trying to get control,” she said. “It’s something no one should actually see in their lives.”
One of the helicopters came down in the backyard of Hammonton resident Caitlyn Collins, who said she and her husband heard the aircraft moments before the crash.
“I just heard this wub, wub, wub sound…and I was like, ‘What is that?'” Collins said. “My husband just starts screaming, ‘Call 911.'”
Collins said she and her husband, along with a neighbor who is an off-duty Hammonton police officer, rushed to the crash site.
“There was a man in there, he was conscious and breathing, and kind of just looking around,” she said. “The only thing I could think to do was hold his hand and talk to him, so I just laid in the ground next to him and was like, ‘Hey, we’re here, don’t worry.'”
The injured pilot was taken to a trauma center, where he later died.
“One of the helicopters burst into flames; luckily, there was not any industry or commercial buildings or populated areas it went down in,” Friel said. “It could have gone a lot worse, and there could have been a lot more loss of life.”
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. The NTSB will lead the investigation, which will examine the pilots, the aircraft and the operating environment.
According to FAA records, one helicopter is registered to a charter company in Lancaster, Pa., while the other is privately owned out of Carneys Point, N.J.
A preliminary report is expected within 30 days. A final report, including a probable cause, could take up to two years.
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