Israeli man identified as pilot killed in South Brunswick helicopter crash
SOUTH BRUNSWICK – It may take a year before authorities complete their investigation into a helicopter crash Thursday that claimed the life of a 44-year-old Israeli man in the Kingston section near the Princeton border.
Aaron McCarter, a safety investigator with National Transportation Safety Board, said at a press conference Friday afternoon near the crash scene that the pilot, Josef Yitzhak, was trying to accumulate flight hours in his attempt to get a commercial "add on" helicopter license.
Yitzhak, the only occupant of the helicopter, was already a certified commercial airplane pilot, McCarter said.
The helicopter took off about 15 minutes before the 3:30 p.m. crash Thursday from Princeton Airport on Route 206 in Montgomery, McCarter said. The airport hosts a helicopter flight school.
The helicopter was flying east at about 800 feet when there was a "catastrophic failure," McCarter said.
The investigation has revealed so far, based on eyewitness accounts, that the helicopter began flying in an erratic manner and made several sharp turns before losing attitude and crashing into the canal, McCarter said.
McCarter said he expects to be on the scene for two to four days. A salvage team specializing in helicopter crashes is heading to the scene from Delaware, he said.
Investigators have yet to closely examine the wreckage, he said.
"We haven't gotten a good view of it," he said.
McCarter said he has received "outstanding, unprecedented support" from township and state officials.
Township police worked with Israeli officials in New York City to notify Yitzhak's family. Chief Raymond Hayducka extended his deepest sympathy to the pilot's family.
The Israeli Consulate thanked the police department and the National Traffic Safety Board for their assistance.
The helicopter, a single-engine Robinson R22, crashed in the woods and a stream off Lakeview Avenue at the west end of Euclid Avenue near Lake Carnegie around 3:30 p.m.
South Brunswick Deputy Police Chief Jim Ryan said Thursday at a press briefing that life-saving efforts by first responders "were not possible."
Ryan said the first responders had to extricate the pilot from the wreckage by lifting the craft off the pilot and taking him to the bank of the pond.
Police also said they received 911 calls of a helicopter flying erratically in the area.
The scene is about a half mile east of Route 27.
The South Brunswick Police Department and Kingston Volunteer Fire Company responded to the scene.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ helicopter crash: Israeli pilot killed in South Brunswick wreck
