1 dead after helicopter crash in South Brunswick, NJ

🚨 The R-22 helicopter went down in South Brunswick around 3:25 p.m.

🚨 It landed in a body of water near the D&R Canal and Carnegie Lake

🚨 Only the pilot was on board

SOUTH BRUNSWICK — A pilot was killed in a helicopter crashed into a body of water on Thursday afternoon.

The R-22 helicopter had taken off from Princeton Airport minutes before crashing into an area where Lake Carnegie and the Millstone River meet near the Delaware & Raritan Canal around 3:25 p.m., according to the FAA.

A South Brunswick fire captain witnessed the helicopter flying erratically just before crashing. South Brunswick Police Deputy Police Chief James Ryan said the pilot, a male, suffered "massive injuries" in the crash.

Ryan would not disclose the identify of the pilot pending notification of family.

An R-22 helicopter is described as a two-seater light-utility craft.

Video over the scene shows the helicopter crashed upside with the rotors in the water. The area around the crash is very wooded slowing first responders getting to the scene.

Route 27 was closed between River Road and Laurel Avenue but was reopened just before 5 p.m.

The FAA will invesigate the cause of the crash.

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