One person is dead and another is injured in midair helicopter crash in New Jersey, officials say

HAMMONTON, N.J. (AP) – Two helicopters crashed in New Jersey in what federal authorities say was a midair collision that killed one person and critically injured another.

Hammonton Police Chief Kevin Friel said rescuers responded to a report of an aviation crash at about 11:25 a.m. on Sunday, and police and fire crews subsequently extinguished flames that engulfed one of the helicopters.

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

One person was killed and another was transported to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries. Video from the scene showed a helicopter spinning rapidly to the ground.

Hammonton is a town of about 15,000 people located in Atlantic County in the southern part of New Jersey, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southeast of Philadelphia. The town has a history of agriculture and is located near the Pine Barrens, a forested wilderness area that covers more than 1 million acres (405,000 hectares).

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board have been notified and will be investigating the crash, Friel said.