HAMMONTON, New Jersey — One person is dead and another is critically injured after two helicopters collided in Hammonton, New Jersey.
It happened just after 11 a.m. Sunday near Basin Road and North White Horse Pike.
The Federal Aviation Administration described the crash as a midair collision between an Enstrom F-28A helicopter and Enstrom 280C helicopter over Hammonton Municipal Airport. Only the pilots were on board each aircraft.
“Reports were that they were flying in tandem, that they were flying close together, which is probably what caused the collision to occur,” said Hammonton Police Chief Kevin Friel.
Aerial footage shows aftermath of deadly helicopter collision on Dec. 28, 2025.
Police say one person has died and another was taken to the hospital with critical life-threatening injuries.
“They were flying lower than I would presume a helicopter would be, and they were flying really close together, like too close,” recalled Diana Cleuff of Shamong, NJ. “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.”
Sal Silipino, owner of a cafe near the crash site, said the pilots were regulars at the restaurant and would often have breakfast together. He said he and other customers watched the helicopters take off before one began spiraling downward, followed by the other.
“It was shocking,” he said. “I’m still shaking after that happened.”
Witness Brian Sherr said he was outside of a nearby store when he heard a woman nearby “screaming, ‘Oh my God, oh my God.'”
“I did hear a metal clank, but there’s a lot of vehicles around, so I didn’t really pay much attention,” Sherr told ABC News.
He said that as he looked up to the sky, he saw one of the helicopters “slowly descending in a rotating motion, almost as if the rudder and the tail had lost control.”
“I thought that was the only one at first, and then I see a second one come down with the same issue behind it,” Sherr said, adding he saw smoke rise after the second helicopter impacted the ground, prompting him to call 911.
The names of the person killed and the person injured were not immediately released.
Hammonton police urge residents and drivers to avoid Basin Road as the investigation continues.
An NTSB investigator is enroute to the scene. After the wreckage of both helicopters are documented, crews will then be moved to a secure facility for further evaluation, officials said.
Stay with Action News as we continue to follow this developing story.
ABC News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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