A Sunday morning ritual between two pilots turned into a nightmare over New Jersey when their helicopters collided midair, sending one spiraling to the ground in flames and leaving a community in shock.

One pilot was killed instantly, and another is fighting for their life following the crash at Hammonton Municipal Airport. The incident, which occurred at approximately 11:25 a.m. (7:25 p.m. EAT), has triggered an immediate investigation by US federal aviation authorities.

A Morning Ritual Turned Tragic

The tragedy is compounded by the personal connection between the aviators. According to Sal Silipino, a local café owner near the crash site, the pilots were not strangers passing in the sky; they were regulars who had just shared breakfast together.

"It was shocking," Silipino told reporters, visibly shaken by the event. "I’m still shaking after that happened."

Witnesses watched as the two helicopters took off, a sight common to the area. Moments later, the routine departure descended into chaos. Video footage from the scene captured the harrowing final moments as one aircraft began spinning rapidly toward the earth before impact.

The Investigation

Hammonton Police Chief Kevin Friel confirmed that emergency responders arrived to find one of the helicopters engulfed in flames. Fire crews worked quickly to extinguish the blaze, but the damage was catastrophic.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has identified the aircraft involved as light utility helicopters, often used for training or personal flight:

• Enstrom F-28A: A three-seat light helicopter.
• Enstrom 280C: A shark-nosed variant of the F-28 series.

Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have taken charge of the scene. Their investigation will focus on air traffic communications, pilot flight records, and mechanical integrity to determine how two aircraft in relatively open airspace could collide.

While details remain scarce regarding the exact cause of the collision, the NTSB is expected to release a preliminary report within weeks. For now, a local aviation community is left mourning a friend and praying for the survival of another.