One person is dead and two Pennsylvania State Police troopers are injured after a small plane crashed into a state police helicopter at Carlisle Airport in Cumberland County on Wednesday evening. Authorities said the collision happened just before 7 p.m. local time.
The helicopter, a Bell 407, was hovering several feet off the ground in a grassy area adjacent to a runway during a routine training exercise, according to acting Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Lt. Col. George Bivens. The other aircraft involved was a Cessna 150.
Bivens said the Cessna approached from behind and lined up with a nearby runway. "As that Cessna came down along that runway, for an unknown reason, it veered hard to the right at the last moment," Bivens told reporters. "It struck the helicopter from the rear. The pilots would not have been able to even see that airplane approaching them."
The impact was severe. Bivens described the crash as "violent," saying the helicopter "rolled inverted and crashed into the ground on its side and partially onto its roof." Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board initially described the incident as a midair collision, though state police later said in a statement that the helicopter was on the ground at the moment of impact.
The Cessna pilot, identified by authorities as Paul Sokoloski, 57, died at the scene. He was the only person aboard the small plane. A Penn State Health spokesperson confirmed to CBS News that Sokoloski was an employee of Penn State Health.
The two helicopter pilots, identified as Cpl. Bryce Korman and Trooper Jason Mills, were members of the state police's elite aviation unit based out of Harrisburg. Both were initially trapped inside the wreckage, but one was able to push out a window and get them both free. They were taken to Penn State Hershey Medical Center with minor injuries and were listed in stable condition. By Thursday, Korman had been discharged, while Mills remained hospitalized in stable condition.
An eyewitness, Lloyd Slusser, described what he saw after the collision. "What is sticking in my mind, it was the crash, the loud sounds more than anything, just because it was so loud, it was kind of shocking," Slusser said. He added that one of the helicopter pilots was in noticeably worse shape at the scene. "The pilot was in a little bit worse shape," Slusser said. "He kind of immediately went down. The first responders attended to him. I kind of stayed with the copilot."
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro spoke at the news conference Wednesday night and confirmed the helicopter pilots were expected to survive. The FAA and NTSB are both involved in the investigation into what caused the Cessna to veer off course.
