At least one person was killed and another seriously injured when two helicopters crashed late Sunday morning in Hammonton, New Jersey.
According to a spokesperson for Hammonton’s municipal government, police received a call at 11:25 a.m. ET about an “aviation accident between two helicopters”, with both aircraft crash-landing. The spokesman said a helicopter burst into flames after the crash.
The spokesperson confirmed that one person died in the crash and another was taken to hospital with “serious life-threatening injuries”.
Local resident Dan Demshek, 34, said he was leaving the gym when he suddenly heard a “loud sound” like a car crash. He shared video with NBC News of a helicopter circling while rapidly losing altitude.
“Looked back and saw a helicopter going up from the right side and diving into the ground,” Dameshek said. “For a second it seemed like the other helicopter was OK, then I heard another sound like metal hitting metal and it started going out of control and that’s what you see in the video.”
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, it was a mid-air collision between an Enstrom F-28A helicopter and an Enstrom 280C helicopter near Hammonton Municipal Airport.
“Each plane had only pilots on board,” the agency said.
The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation, the FAA said.
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