Light aircraft crashes into police helicopter

Carlisle Airport in the state of Pennsylvania, USA, was the site of a crash between Cessna 150 fixed-wing aircraft and a Bell 407 police helicopter. Acting Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner George Bivens said that the police helicopter was at the airport on a routine training exercise. It was hovering low to the ground over a grassy patch to the side of one of the runways. Bivens said that the Cessna flew along the runway and then suddenly veered off to the side at the last minute for an unknown reason and struck the helicopter from behind. There was no opportunity for the police helicopter to make any evasive action and as the Cessna came from directly behind, it is unlikely that either of the personnel on board the helicopter even saw the Cessna approaching.

Aaron McCarter, Investigator-in-Charge with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), said “Many of you have all seen the videos that have turned up online. It’s very dramatic. That shows the collision. We see the outcome, but we want to understand why it happened.”

Although the airfield is not controlled by a tower, McCarter said there was evidence that the pilots of both the plane and the helicopter were aware of each other’s presence and had been in communication.

The pilot of the plane who died at the scene was identified as Paul William Sokoloski, according to the Cumberland County Coroner’s Office. The helicopter was piloted by Corporal Bryce Corman and Trooper Jason Mills; both were airlifted to Penn State Health Milton S Hershey Medical Center for treatment. Corman has already been released from the hospital and Mills is said to be recovering in the hospital with a good prognosis.

An NTSB preliminary report into a firefighting helicopter crash was recently released.