1 dead after 2 helicopters collide mid-air in Hammonton, New Jersey

Two helicopters collided in mid-air Sunday morning shortly after taking off from Hammonton Municipal Airport, killing one pilot and seriously injuring another, authorities said.

The crash happened around 11:25 a.m. near the intersection of Route 30 and Basin Road, about a mile from the airport. The two helicopters crashed in a nearby field and one of them caught fire, police said.

Hammonton Police Department Chief Kevin Friel said initial reports indicate the planes were flying nearby shortly after departure.

“Reports were that they were flying in tandem, that they were flying in close proximity to each other, which is probably the cause of the collision,” Friel said.

Aerial footage shows the aftermath of a deadly helicopter collision on December 28, 2025.

The helicopters – an Enstrom F-28A and an Enstrom 280C – had just taken off after the pilots stopped for breakfast at the airport cafe, where they were regular customers, according to the cafe’s owner.

“They were just in our cafe having breakfast, they’re regulars, they come, they seem like really nice people,” said Sal Silipino, owner of Apron Café. “I saw one fall and then I saw the other one fall and it was a bit of disbelief, is this really happening?”

Witnesses in the area said they saw the helicopters flying unusually close before the collision.

“They were flying lower than I suppose a helicopter would, and they were flying very close together, like too close,” said Diana Cleuff of Shamong, New Jersey. “I’m like, ‘God, I hope they’re flying too close, I hope they don’t clip each other.’ And as soon as I said it to myself, the impact happened.”

Cleuff said she watched in horror as one helicopter crashed and the other appeared to be struggling in the air.

One dead after helicopter crash in Hammonton, New Jersey

“It was horrible, I saw one crash and the other, I felt horrible because he was trying to take control,” she said. “This is something no one should ever see in their life.”

One of the helicopters crashed in the yard of Hammonton resident Caitlyn Collins, who said she and her husband heard the plane moments before the crash.

“I just heard this wub, wub, wub sound…and I was like, ‘What is that?'” Collins said. “My husband starts yelling, ‘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, he was breathing and he was just looking around,” she said. “All I could think about was holding his hand and talking to him, so I laid down on the floor next to him and said, ‘Hey, we’re here, don’t worry.'”

The injured pilot was transported to a trauma center, where he remains hospitalized, authorities said. The identity of the killed pilot has not yet been released.

“One of the helicopters caught fire; fortunately there were no industrial, commercial buildings or populated areas where it crashed,” Friel said. “It could have been a lot worse and there could have been a lot more deaths.”

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. The NTSB said an investigator was traveling to the scene and the agency would lead the investigation, which would examine the pilots, the aircraft and the operating environment.

Both pilots were from the tri-state area, authorities said. Their names will be released by local authorities.

A preliminary report is expected within 30 days. A final report, including probable cause, could take up to two years.