PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Two helicopters were flying in formation before they got too close to each other and collided, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report on the deadly crash in Hammonton, New Jersey, last month.
Around 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 28, the pilots of two private helicopters collided midair. Both pilots, 71-year-old Michael Greenberg, of Sewell, and 65-year-old Kenneth L. Kirsch, of Carneys Point, were killed.
The NTSB report cited surveillance video that showed both helicopters flying in close proximity to each other shortly before the crash. The helicopters were slightly staggered from one another and flying on a similar heading, like a formation flight.
It describes one helicopter’s tumbling descent toward the ground, while the other pitched up sharply before leveling out. Shortly after, it began yawing in a clockwise direction and descended rapidly until it exited the video frame.
The crash site was located about 1.5 miles southwest of Hammonton Municipal Airport, comprised of a debris path that was about 1,211 feet long.
The NTSB’s final report could take a year or longer to complete.