In a tragic incident near Hammonton Municipal Airport, two helicopters collided in mid-air around 11:25 a.m., as reported by the Federal Aviation Administration. The aircraft involved were identified as an Enstrom F-28A and an Enstrom 280C, each carrying only the pilot.
The investigation into the collision will likely begin with an examination of any communication between the two pilots, along with an assessment of whether they had visual contact with each other, suggested Alan Diehl, a former crash investigator for both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board.
“Almost all midair collisions can be attributed to a failure in ‘see and avoid’ procedures,” Diehl explained. “Investigators will certainly focus on the visibility from the cockpits to determine if one pilot approached from the other’s blind spot.”
Despite the mostly cloudy conditions at the time of the accident, weather experts from AccuWeather confirmed that the winds were light and visibility was clear.
“Clearly they’ll be looking at the out-of-cockpit views of the two aircraft and seeing if one pilot was approaching from the blind side.”
Although it was mostly cloudy at the time of the crash, winds were light and visibility was good, according to the weather forecasting company AccuWeather.
Hammonton, located in Atlantic County, is about 56km from Philadelphia and sits near the New Jersey Pine Barrens, a vast area of forested wilderness.
The Hammonton Fire Department has asked bystanders to avoid the area while emergency services respond to the incident.
