2 New Jersey pilots killed in a helicopter collision frequented a cafe together near the crash site

Two men who died after their helicopters collided mid-flight in New Jersey this weekend both obtained their private pilot licenses more than a decade ago and often ate breakfast together at a cafe near the crash site before flying out of the local airport.

Authorities on Monday identified the two New Jersey men as Kenneth Kirsch, 65, and Michael Greenberg, 71. Witnesses told police that the two helicopters they were piloting Sunday were flying nearby just before crashing in a farm field near Hammonton Airport, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southeast of Philadelphia.

Hammonton Police Chief Kevin Friel said in a statement that Kirsch, of Carney’s Point, was pronounced dead at an area hospital after being airlifted there, while Greenberg, of Sewell, died at the scene of the crash.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators were examining the crash site Monday and determined that the debris field was about 100 yards (91 yards) long and contained parts of the main rotors and tail rotors, a spokesman said. Both helicopters are expected to be removed from the site on Tuesday and taken to another location for further examination.

A preliminary report is expected in about 30 days, the NTSB said.

Friel said rescuers responded to a report of a plane crash around 11:25 a.m. Sunday. Video from the scene shows a helicopter rapidly spinning toward the ground. Police and firefighters then put out the flames which engulfed one of the helicopters.

The Federal Aviation Administration described the accident as a mid-air collision between an Enstrom F-28A helicopter and an Enstrom 280C helicopter near the Hammonton Municipal Airport. Only the pilots were on board.

Both Kirsch and Greenberg received their private pilot licenses in 2014, according to FAA records. They often stopped at the Apron Café next to the airport for breakfast before flying, said restaurant owner Sal Silipino.

Silipino said Kirsch and Greenberg had eaten at the cafe shortly before the crash. Customers watched the helicopters take off from the airport and were stunned when the plane fell from the sky, he said.

“It was shocking. I’m still shaking to see it happen,” Silipino said. “They were just in our cafe having breakfast. They’re regulars. They come every week or every two weeks. They come together. They seem like very nice people. They were also very nice to the workers and the staff and everything.”

He added that the helicopter flights appeared to have started without incident.

“I saw one fall and then I saw the other one fall and there was a little bit of disbelief. It’s like, is this really happening?” Silipino said.

FAA records show that Kirsch was the registered owner of one of the helicopters, while the other plane was registered to Mr.&M Charter LLC of Mountville, Pennsylvania. Contact details of M&Mr. Charter could not be immediately located Monday.

Dan Dameshek, a Hammonton resident, told NBC10 he was leaving a gym when he heard a loud bang and saw two helicopters spinning out of control.

“Immediately, the first helicopter passed from the right side down and started spinning rapidly, falling from the air,” Dameshek told the TV channel. “And then it seemed like the second helicopter was okay for a second, and then it sounded like another pop or something…and then this helicopter started coming out of the air quickly.”

Hammonton is a town of approximately 15,000 people located in Atlantic County in the southern part of New Jersey. The city has an agricultural history and is located near the Pine Barrens, a wild and forested area that covers more than one million acres (405,000 hectares).

Investigators will likely first look at communications between the two pilots and whether they were able to see each other, said Alan Diehl, a former accident investigator for the FAA and NTSB.

“Virtually all mid-air collisions are a failure in what they call ‘see and avoid,'” Diehl said. “Obviously they will look at the out-of-cockpit views of both planes and see if one of the pilots was approaching from the blind side.”

Although the weather was mostly cloudy at the time of the accident, winds were light and visibility was good, according to weather forecasting company AccuWeather.