New Jersey woman reacts to helicopter crash

HAMMONTON, N.J. (NBC, KYMA) - Two helicopters were involved in a crash Sunday morning, resulting in the death of one person.

The helicopters both landed on Caitlyn Collins' property after she heard the crash and ran outside to help, and she shared what she saw following the crash.

"The only thing I could think to do was to sit down and hold his hand and just talk to him," Collins shared.

Collins was one of the first people on scene of a deadly midair collision helicopter crash in Hammonton, New Jersey.

The two helicopters crashing in her backyard Sunday morning.

"I just held his hand and said, 'Everything is going to be okay. Everyone is coming for you. We all know you're here. You're safe here. The sirens are for you. They in their way. You just got to stay,'" Collins detailed.

She held the hand of one pilot, who officials say was in critical condition. Collins had no idea that there was a second pilot in a different helicopter who was killed. They were the only people onboard at the time of the crash.

Officials say they took off from Hammonton Municipal Airport together where witnesses say the two pilots are friends and frequently flew in tandem to the airport.

"They always flew together. I was talking to the customers and we looked up and I see one spiraling down," said Sal Silipino, a witness.

The two helicopters crashed about two miles away from the airport in a rural part of Atlantic County, south of Wharton State Forest.

"In this area, there's a nursing home that houses hundreds of people. That could have been a catastrophic event," said Chief Kevin Friel with the Hammonton Police Department.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be investigating the cause of the crash.

Aviation Attorney Pablo Rojas says small airports like Hammonton do not have air traffic control towers to help guide aircrafts.

"These are small airports where there is no air traffic control tower. And so, pilots are expected and have be in communication with each other," Rojas spoke.

"You can't stop thinking about these people, their families, it's right after Christmas. Just continuing prayer after prayer. Let them be okay. Let them be okay. Let everyone be okay, please," Collins expressed.

The FAA and the NTSB are expected to be on site of the crash later Monday.