One dead, two injured after Pennsylvania aircraft collision

A small plane collided with a state police helicopter at a central Pennsylvania airport Wednesday evening, killing one pilot and leaving two state troopers injured during a training exercise, officials said.

The crash happened about 120 miles west of Philadelphia at Carlisle Regional Airport in Cumberland County. The accident involved a Bell 407 helicopter operated by Pennsylvania State Police and a Cessna 150 airplane, a small, two-seater aircraft, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s initial investigation.

The helicopter hovered over a grassy area to the side of the runway when the small plane came down the runway and veered off the airstrip and hit the chopper from the rear, Pennsylvania State Police acting Commissioner Lt. Col. George Bivens said at a news conference. The helicopter pilots couldn’t see the plane coming up from behind, he added. The plane crashed in many pieces, and the helicopter rolled and landed inverted, trapping both pilots, Bivens continued. One of the helicopter pilots pushed out a window and aided the other one in getting out, before receiving treatment at Hershey Medical Center.

The one known occupant of the Cessna died in the violent crash. Local media identified him as 57-year-old Paul Sokoloski of Hershey, a doctor at Penn State Health. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro told reporters that the two injured troopers would recover, adding that the police force was incredibly grateful the men were OK.