Authorities on Monday identified two pilots who died after their helicopters collided midair in southern New Jersey. On Sunday, Dec. 28, around 11:25 a.m., Hammonton Police received a report of a midair collision involving an Enstrom model 280C helicopter and an Enstrom model F-28A helicopter. Bo th helicopters had just departed from the Hammonton Municipal Airport. “It was probably just a moment or two after their flight started that they collided,” Hammonton Police Chief Kevin Friel said. The helicopters crashed in a field and tree line along the 100 block of Basin Road about a mile and a half from the airport, officials said. One of the helicopters was engulfed in flames. Hammonton firefighters extinguished the helicopter that caught fire. Residents in the area also removed the pilot from the helicopter that crashed in the tree line. The pilot of the model F-28A helicopter, later identified as Kenneth Kirsch, 65, of Carney’s Point, New Jersey, was flown to Cooper Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. The pilot of the model 280C helicopter, later identified as Michael Greenberg, 71, of Sewell, New Jersey, was pronounced dead at the scene. Officials said Kirsch and Greenberg were friends who would often have breakfast together at a café near the crash site in Hammonton, about 35 miles southeast of Philadelphia. “I was talking to the customers and we looked up and I see one spiraling,” said Sal Silipino, the owner of Apron Café. “I didn’t see them collide or anything. I see the one go down and then the other one go down. And at first I was a little bit in shock. Did they just crash? Was that real what I saw? And then it was all over. We saw all the smoke. It was terrifying.” Hammonton resident Dan Dameshek shared video with NBC10 that showed one of the helicopters falling from the sky, causing smoke to billow above the town. Dameshek said that he was coming back from the gym when he heard a loud snap and then looked up to see the two helicopters spinning out of control. “Immediately, the first helicopter went from right side up to upside down and started rapidly spinning, falling out of the air,” Dameshek said. “And then it looked like the second helicopter was okay for a second, and then it sounded like another snap or something… and then that helicopter started rapidly spinning out of the air.” SkyForce10 was also over the scene to find both helicopters crashed in a field. Another witness, Caitlyn Collins, was one of the first people to respond to the scene after the crash, which occurred in her backyard. She told NBC10 on Sunday that she held the hand of the pilot — later identified as Kenneth Kirsch. “I just held his hand and said, ‘Everything is going to be OK. Everyone is coming for you. We all know you’re here. You’re safe here. The sirens are for you. They’re on their way. You just got to stay,'” Collins said. Collins said she had no idea at the time that there was a second pilot in a different helicopter who was killed. Both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the crash. This story is developing. Check back for updates. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. ...read more read less