Crime & Safety

2 Victims of Chopper Crash in Critical Condition

Hillsborough pilot and photographer from Delaware are being treated at the surgical intensive care unit of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital as of Thursday afternoon.

The two victims injured in yesterday's are listed in critical condition and being treated at the surgical intensive care unit at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick as of Thursday afternoon.

The passenger in the helicopter, Julia Armstrong-Robertson, 44, of Newark, Del. suffered severe injuries to her chest and back, police said. Pilot Edmund Eilbacher, 27, of Hillsborough, is also believed to have also suffered chest and back injuries.

At 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, South Brunswick Police received multiple 911 calls reporting the helicopter crash. Officers arrived at the scene to find the two occupants outside of the aircraft. Police believe the victims were helped out of the wreckage by roofers who were working nearby on Indian Fields Elementary School. Police spokesman Sgt. Jim Ryan said Robertson was in a state of shock when officers arrived and had difficulty speaking.

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Witnesses told police they saw the helicopter circle around the area before experiencing trouble. The aircraft then rapidly descended straight down into a field just behind the school on the property of Medicia, a pharmaceutical company located on Ridge Road.

Police credited Eilbacher for avoiding the school and bringing the aircraft down in the field immediately behind school property. 

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"It appears the pilot did a great job avoiding the building," Ryan said Wednesday.

Indian Fields was mostly unoccupied, with about 20 staffers and roofers at the school at the time of the crash. The aircraft fell in a field just over a small embankment behind the school. The aircraft's landing struts had collapsed beneath it and the tail was bent, while the windshield had a portion smashed out from the impact. Camera equipment and other personal items, including sandals, were strewn over a small area around the crash site.

Robertson was airlifted by New Jersey State Police helicopter to Robert Wood Johnson, while Eilbacher was transported by South Brunswick EMS.

The aircraft is registered to Nassau Helicopters Inc., based out of Princeton Airport in Montgomery Township, according to police. The helicopter was hired for an aerial photo shoot of Dayton by Robertson, who is the owner and operator of Aero-Imaging, Inc.

Robertson is an award-winning professional aerial photographer who has been published in hundreds of publications, including ESPN Magazine, the New York Times and a book by Barnes and Noble titled "Big League Ball Parks," according to her web site. She has also worked as a freelancer for the Associated Press and the Gannett Corporation's Wilmington News Journal. 

Eilbacher is a 2002 graduate of Hillsborough High School, who was a member of the Raiders lacrosse team. He began working at Princeton Airport out of a desire to fly helicopters. 

The Monmouth Junction Fire Department, South Brunswick EMS, paramedics, Middlesex County Hazmat, and New Jersey State Police Medevac responded to the crash. The accident is under investigation by the NTSB and FAA. 

Hillsborough Patch Editor Eileen Oldfield contributed to this report.


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