NTSB releases preliminary report into Hammonton, New Jersey helicopter collision
HAMMONTON, N.J. (WPVI) -- The NTSB has released its preliminary report into the fatal collision of two helicopters in the skies over Hammonton, New Jersey.
The crash happened the morning of Sunday, Dec. 28, near the intersection of Route 30 and Basin Road, about a mile from the Hammonton Municipal Airport.
Both helicopters went down in a nearby field off Rt. 206, with one bursting into flames.
In the report, the NTSB said both helicopters had taken off from Vineland-Downstown Airport around 9:48 a.m. and flew parallel paths to the airport in Hammonton, arriving at 9:58 a.m.
The pilots stopped for breakfast at the airport café, where they were regular customers, according to the café's owner.
Surveillance video reviewed by investigators showed the helicopters flying close to each other shortly after they lifted off, sometime before 11:24 a.m.
"The helicopters were slightly staggered from one another and flying on a similar heading, similar to a formation flight," the report reads.
The NTSB said that as the flight continued, the helicopters moved toward each other until they collided.
"One helicopter began a tumbling descent toward terrain before exiting the frame of the video," the NTSB report reads. "The other helicopter pitched up sharply before leveling out. Shortly after, the helicopter began yawing in a clockwise direction and descended rapidly until it exited the video frame."
The NTSB said it tracked a debris path that was 1,211 feet long.
Michael Greenberg, 71, of Sewell, N.J. and Kenneth Kirsch, 65, of Carneys Point, N.J., were killed in the crash.
Investigators say a covering on the main rotor blade of one helicopter had an impact mark with paint transfer of a color consistent with the tail rotor blade of the other helicopter.
The full investigation into the cause of the collision could take up to a year to complete.
