Country musician Troy Gentry of award winning country duo, Montgomery Gentry, killed in helicopter crash, Friday 

Gentry, 50, died from injuries sustained when the chopper went down in Medford, NJ,  Friday noon

He was headed for a concert which was cancelled immediately

Country musician Troy Gentry, 50, killed, Friday when helicopter goes down in New Jersey ahead of show

Country music singer Troy Gentry has died after a helicopter crashed on his way a show in southern New Jersey. The crash occurred around noon Friday. A distress call was sent from the helicopter before it crashed. His singing partner Eddie Montgomery was not onboard the helicopter.
“It is with great sadness that we confirm Troy Gentry, half of the popular country duo Montgomery Gentry, was tragically killed in a helicopter crash which took place at approximately 1:00pm today in Medford, New Jersey,” the band posted on Twitter Friday afternoon.
The pilot died at the scene after the craft came down in a field short of the Flying W Airport.
Gentry, 50, was taken from the wreckage and died from his injuries at Virtua Hospital in Marlton, N.J.
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Troy Gentry [right], of country duo Montgomery Gentry was killed in a helicopter crash in Medford, N.J. on Friday. He was one half of the award winning group along with Eddie Montgomery [left]

Witnesses saw that the helicopter “appeared to be faltering and having difficulty” as it approached the airport to land, Burlington County Prosecutor’s spokesman Joel Bewley said, Friday
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.
No severe weather was forecast for Medford on Friday.
It was not clear where the helicopter was coming from.
Gentry and his musical partner Eddie Montgomery formed their group in the late 1990s, and have repeatedly been nominated for awards by the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music after hits such as “Lucky Man.”
Montgomery Gentry’s concert at the Flying W Airport was cancelled in the immediate aftermath, about an hour after the crash, before news of Gentry’s death broke.
Gentry was best known for his song “My Town.”  The video was shot downtown in Triangle Park.  Over the course of their career, the band scored five number 1 hits. They were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2009.
Several musicians have taken to twitter to express their sadness and shock over the news.

Montgomery Gentry made a formal announcement on the tragedy

Pilot and passenger [Troy] died in the crash, Friday, near Flying W Airport in Medford, NJ

Montgomery was not on the helicopter, according to WLEX in Gentry’s hometown of Lexington, Ky.
Others in the music world expressed their condolences to Gentry’s loved ones.
“We are absolutely heartbroken over the passing of #Opry Member Troy Gentry. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends,” the Grand Ole Opry, a country institution, posted on Twitter.
“So sad to hear the news of Troy Gentry. My prayers are with his family and friends,” Sheryl Crow wrote.