Sat | Jan 3, 2026

2 pilots killed after helicopters collided in New Jersey

Published:Monday | December 29, 2025 | 1:19 PM
Pause
Debris from a helicopter is shown after two helicopters crashed in Hammonton, N.J., on Sunday, December 28, 2025. (WPVI-TV/6ABC via AP)
Uncredited
Debris from a helicopter is shown after two helicopters crashed in Hammonton, N.J., on Sunday, December 28, 2025. (WPVI-TV/6ABC via AP)
Authorities look over the scene after two helicopters crashed in Hammonton, N.J., on Sunday, December 28, 2025. (WPVI-TV/6ABC via AP)
Uncredited
Authorities look over the scene after two helicopters crashed in Hammonton, N.J., on Sunday, December 28, 2025. (WPVI-TV/6ABC via AP)
1
2

Authorities on Monday identified two pilots who died after their helicopters collided mid-air in southern New Jersey.

Kenneth Kirsch, 65, and Michael Greenberg, 71, were friends who both lived in New Jersey and would often have breakfast together at a café near the crash site in Hammonton, about 35 miles (56 kilometres) 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 flown there, while Greenberg, of Sewell, died at the crash site.

“Statements from witnesses had the two helicopters flying close together just before the crash,” he said.

“The crash site was approximately a mile and a half from the airport in a farm field.”

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were at the site Monday, authorities said.

Friel said rescuers responded to a report of an aviation crash at about 11:25 a.m. Sunday.

Video from the scene shows a helicopter spinning rapidly to the ground. Police and fire crews subsequently extinguished flames that engulfed one of the helicopters.

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

FAA records show Kirsch was the registered owner of one of the helicopters, while the other aircraft was registered to M&M Charter LLC of Mountville, Pennsylvania. Contact information for M&M Charter could not be immediately found Monday.

Sal Silipino, owner of a café 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 spiralling downward, followed by the other.

“It was shocking,” he said.

“I’m still shaking after that happened.”

Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.