By: Najla Alexander
According to officials, on March 14, at approximately 9:30 a.m., Middletown Twp. Police were notified by officials at Middletown High School North that a helicopter had made an emergency landing on the school campus.
Police responded and found that the commercial passenger helicopter had touched down on a baseball field at the rear of the school, adjacent to Marvin Road, officials stated.
Authorities say the helicopter, operated by Zip Aviation of Caldwell, New Jersey, had experienced an in-flight issue where an indicator light had come on.
There were no passengers on the helicopter at the time, officials stated.
Officials say the pilot, who is not being identified at this time, observed the field and determined that it would be safe to make the emergency landing.
There were no students or faculty on the field or in the surrounding areas, officials said.
According to Middletown Twp. Public Schools Superintendent Jessica Alfone, "This incident is obviously an unusual one. Our school's faculty and staff acted swiftly to confirm that no students or other personnel were harmed."
"The incident had no impact on class scheduling, and we are not anticipating any interference with dismissal or after-school activities. We are thankful that the pilot was not harmed."
Chief of Police R. Craig Weber stated, "This incident demonstrates both the professionalism and close working relationship between the Middletown school district and our Police, Fire, and Emergency Medical Services and our collaborative effort to quickly respond to this unanticipated emergency."
Middletown Police notified the New Jersey State Police at the Regional Operations & Intelligence Center (NJ ROIC), which, officials say, notified the FAA and the NTSB.