CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PA — A pilot died and two Pennsylvania State Police troopers were injured Wednesday evening when a small plane collided with a state police helicopter at Carlisle Regional Airport.
The two-man helicopter crew was conducting training exercises on a grassy area adjacent to the runway when a small, two-seat Cessna Model 150 plane struck the Bell 407 helicopter after suddenly veering off the runway.
The Cessna crashed a short distance from the helicopter and broke into multiple pieces. The Cumberland County Coroner's Office identified the airplane pilot who died in the crash as Paul Sokoloski, 57, of Hershey.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro identified the injured troopers as Corporal Bryce Corman and Trooper Jason Mills, members of the state police aviation unit.
"Tonight could have been much worse. Tonight could have been much more tragic for our state police family. Thank God that it wasn't," Shapiro said at a news conference. Wednesday night at the Hershey Medical Center, where the troopers were taken.
Dr. Ashley Ludwig, Hershey Medical Center trauma medical director, said at the news conference that both troopers arrived as Level 1 trauma patients but suffered only minor injuries and were in stable condition.
State Police State Police Acting Commissioner Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens described the collision as "a very violent crash" and said there was no way the helicopter pilots would have been able to see the plane approaching them.
The pilots were momentarily trapped inside the helicopter, Bivens said. But one trooper escaped by pushing out a window and assisted the other trooper to free themselves before first responders arrived.
Bivens said the the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board along with the state police. Shapiro said he contacted U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to request that the FAA expedite its response to the scene.
According to CNN, Carlisle Airport has a single 4,000-foot-long runway. There is no control tower, so pilots communicate their intentions on a common radio frequency. That is a common arrangement at small airports.
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