Essex County Airport – Pilot pulled from helicopter

A helicopter crashed shortly after takeoff at Essex County Airport in Fairfield on Saturday, injuring the pilot, police said.

The chopper, a 2015 Bell Model 407 with only the pilot aboard, crash-landed in the grass near the fence at the edge of the airport at 12:11 p.m.

First responders found the pilot, who was identified as a 33-year-old man from Marietta, Georgia, still in the cockpit. He was extricated from the helicopter and taken to the hospital by the West Essex First Aid Squad, Fairfield Police Chief Anthony Manna said. He described the man’s injuries as severe. The cause of the crash is under investigation, Manna said. But it appears the pilot was taking off and heading to pick up a private charter when the crash occurred on the north side of the airport near Runway 28, he said. Manna described the pilot’s injuries as severe. One witness told police that the helicopter had risen to between 100 and 150 feet off the ground when it began to spin.

No one on the ground was injured.