Second pilot in Atlantic County crash dies; both pilots identified
The helicopter pilots were known figures at Hammonton Municipal Airport.
Two men stopped by Apron Cafe, a breakfast spot overlooking Hammonton Municipal Airport’s runway, before they took off in separate helicopters late Sunday morning for what the restaurant owner described as one of their frequent flights together over the years.
Minutes later, about 11:25 a.m., Apron Cafe patrons and staff could see one of the helicopters spiraling, engulfed in flames not far in the distance.
“I looked up and I could see in the distance the one spiraling down and then I see the other one coming down,” said the cafe’s owner, Sal Silipino. “It was hard to believe that they were crashing.”
Local authorities identified the pilots Monday as Kenneth Kirsch, a 65-year-old from Carneys Point, Salem County, and Michael Greenberg, a 71-year-old resident of Sewell, Gloucester County.
Hammonton Police Chief Kevin Friel said that Greenberg died at the scene. Kirsch died at an area hospital after being flown there.
Just what led to the crash remains under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.
The parcel of land where the helicopters crashed was an open field amid a busy area. U.S. Routes 30 and 206 are nearby, as are Atlanticare Hammonton Health Park, an assisted living facility, and homes.
“It was a miracle,” Silipino said. “There was so much in that area that they could have landed on top of.”
Federal investigators remained on site Monday cataloging debris that spanned nearly the length of a football field and was “made up of parts of the main rotor and tail rotors,” according to the NTSB.
The agency said the helicopters are slated to be taken from the crash site to a secure location Tuesday. The preliminary report is expected to be made available in about 30 days.
This article contains information from the Associated Press.