THE BROTHER OF X Factor judge Louis Walsh has piloted a helicopter to safety in the US after the aircraft experienced problems in flight.

54-year-old Kiltimagh native Joe Walsh, a director of Mayo-based Connacht Helicopters, was behind the controls of the helicopter which crash-landed while carrying one passenger just off the main street in Chatham, New Jersey, on Friday evening at about 6.30pm local time.

Details surrounding the accident and are sketchy although both occupants of the helicopter avoided serious injury.

Walsh himself was observed walking from the crash site by witnesses.

The helicopter’s tail apparently hit the top of an apartment garage before landing in the car park of the building.

The crash site is located about three miles south of nearby Morristown Municipal Airport, according to the Asbury Park Press.

“I think the pilot, from my vantage point, did a wonderful job landing this helicopter where he did, and could have avoided catastrophe,” Chatham Police Department spokesman Steven Williams told reporters on Friday.

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