Two helicopters crashed last month in Hammonton, New Jersey, killing both pilots on board. Now, a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board reveals that the fatal accident occurred while the aircraft were flying extremely close together.
According to investigators, the two Enstrom 280C and F-28A helicopters left Vineland-Downstown Airport at 9:48 am on December 28th, bound for Hammonton Municipal Airport. They landed safely at approximately 9:58 am before departing again about an hour later, around 11:25 am.
Surveillance footage shows that the two helicopters maintained a tight formation, flying in a slightly staggered pattern until they collided. The incident appears to have been sudden and catastrophic, with one helicopter immediately plummeting towards the ground while the other rapidly changed altitude and began moving erratically.
The cause of the crash remains unclear, but investigators found evidence of paint transfer from the tail rotor of the 280C onto the F-28A. Neither helicopter was equipped with a collision avoidance system at the time of the incident.
The Enstrom F-28A sustained damage to its body, tail cone, and main rotor, while the 280C was largely destroyed by an in-flight fire that began after it struck the ground. The intense heat from the blaze consumed most of the aircraft's body and rotor system, leaving behind a trail of debris that stretched over 1,200 feet.
The National Transportation Safety Board will release its final report on the incident once its investigation is complete, expected to take around 12-18 months.
According to investigators, the two Enstrom 280C and F-28A helicopters left Vineland-Downstown Airport at 9:48 am on December 28th, bound for Hammonton Municipal Airport. They landed safely at approximately 9:58 am before departing again about an hour later, around 11:25 am.
Surveillance footage shows that the two helicopters maintained a tight formation, flying in a slightly staggered pattern until they collided. The incident appears to have been sudden and catastrophic, with one helicopter immediately plummeting towards the ground while the other rapidly changed altitude and began moving erratically.
The cause of the crash remains unclear, but investigators found evidence of paint transfer from the tail rotor of the 280C onto the F-28A. Neither helicopter was equipped with a collision avoidance system at the time of the incident.
The Enstrom F-28A sustained damage to its body, tail cone, and main rotor, while the 280C was largely destroyed by an in-flight fire that began after it struck the ground. The intense heat from the blaze consumed most of the aircraft's body and rotor system, leaving behind a trail of debris that stretched over 1,200 feet.
The National Transportation Safety Board will release its final report on the incident once its investigation is complete, expected to take around 12-18 months.
We're talking about lives lost here. The government needs to take responsibility for ensuring our skies are safer. And let's not forget, this was a commercial airport... shouldn't we have better air traffic control in place?
. Yeah, they flew close, but what about all those hours of training and experience? You gotta think, accidents happen! What if the paint transfer thing was a weird anomaly? Like, what if there's something more going on here we don't know about yet... 
? Not saying it was a conspiracy or anything 
. Just saying we shouldn't jump to conclusions just yet 
.
Two helicopters just casually flying too close to each other and boom! 
You'd think they'd at least have a basic safety feature like a collision avoidance system in place 
. I mean, what were the pilots thinking? Were they even following basic flight protocols? The fact that one helicopter caught fire after the crash is super concerning - it's a miracle anyone survived (or at least, survived with minor injuries 
). I hope the NTSB can figure out what went down and make sure something like this never happens again 
.
those helicopters were flying super close together like, what was their pilot thinking?! 
I just can't believe this happened... Two pilots lost their lives in such a tragic accident 
. The thought of those two helicopters flying so close together and then colliding is just devastating 
.
. And that paint transfer evidence is definitely a weird coincidence 
. It's crazy how something as simple as a formation flyby could turn into such a deadly outcome 
. May their memories live on, and may this incident lead to some much-needed safety upgrades for the aviation industry 
.
but at least we learned something new... I mean, who would've thought that paint transfer could be a major issue in a helicopter collision? 
. like, the pilots were flying super close together and stuff, but they shouldn't have been that tight formation-wise anyway 
. gotta wait 12-18 months to find out what went wrong... patience is wearing thin 
.
doesn't make sense why there wasn't some sort of warning system in place to prevent this kind of thing. 
... two pilots lost their lives and it's just crazy that they were so close together when they crashed 
It's gonna be tough to figure out exactly what happened, but I'm hoping the NTSB can get some answers soon 
...
. anyway, I'm all for investagatin this more and gettin to the bottom of what went wrong. it's gotta be somethin better than just "cause unknown" 
But, paint transfer and no collision avoidance system on either plane... that doesn't sound good. 
Their families must be going through an unimaginable grief right now 
. And don't even get me started on that fire 
... poor guys just didn't stand a chance. 12-18 months for the investigation? Yeah, because we all know how slow those things go 
. Can't wait to see what actually happens when the report comes out though... hopefully it's something we can learn from 
.
.