Two helicopters smashed into each other mid-air on Sunday in Hammonton, New Jersey, killing one pilot and critically injuring another. The collision occurred over a small municipal airport in Atlantic County.
The crash happened at approximately 11:25 a.m. near Hammonton Municipal Airport, and video was captured showing one of the helicopters spiraling toward the ground in a rapid descent.
According to Hammonton Police Chief Kevin Friel, officers received the initial call about the crash around that time, prompting police and fire crews to rush to the scene.
“There is confirmed one fatality at this point and one subject transported by EMS with critical life-threatening injuries,” Friel confirmed to the Asbury Park Press, a local daily newspaper, adding that emergency crews worked together to extinguish flames that had engulfed one of the helicopters after it crashed.
Debris from a helicopter is shown after two helicopters crashed in Hammonton, N.J., on Dec. 28, 2025. WPVI-TV/6ABC via AP
Hammonton is a town of roughly 15,000 residents located in southern New Jersey’s Atlantic County, approximately 35 miles southeast of Philadelphia. The area has agricultural roots and sits near the Pine Barrens, a forest covering more than 1 million acres across New Jersey.
Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be investigating what caused the crash. According to the FAA, the NTSB will take charge of the investigation and is expected to provide further updates.
Days prior, a Mexican military plane with eight people on board crashed into waters off the Texas coast, killing at least five. The plane crashed around 3 p.m. near the Galveston Causeway, with four civilians and four Navy officers aboard, including a two-year-old burn patient and two people from a nonprofit aiding Mexican children with severe burns.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
