NTSB Probes Midair Collision Between Landing Plane and Police Helicopter in Pennsylvania

Federal investigators are working to determine why a small plane veered sideways while landing at a rural Pennsylvania airport and collided with a hovering State Police helicopter, killing the aircraft's pilot and injuring two troopers.

Aaron McCarter, the investigator-in-charge for the National Transportation Safety Board, said Thursday that there is no immediate explanation for Wednesday's fatal crash at the airport in Carlisle, about 110 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

"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," McCarter said.

The Federal Aviation Administration identified the aircraft as a Cessna 150 and a Bell 407 helicopter. The Cessna was attempting to land when it veered to the side and struck the rear of the helicopter, which was hovering above a grassy area beside the runway as part of a training exercise, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

The impact severed the helicopter's tail boom and blades, sending both aircraft to the ground in pieces. The Cessna pilot, identified by the Cumberland County Coroner's Office as Paul William Sokoloski, 57, was the only person aboard the plane and was killed.

Both helicopter pilots, Cpl. Bryce Corman and Trooper Jason Mills, were trapped in the wreckage until one pushed out a window and helped the other escape, said Lt. Col. George Bivens, the state's acting police commissioner. Both were airlifted to Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Gov. Josh Shapiro said Thursday that Corman has been released and Mills is recovering with a good prognosis.

McCarter said both pilots were flight instructors. The airport has no control tower, but pilots communicate on a common frequency. He noted that communication was established between the flight crews and there is strong evidence the Cessna pilot was made aware of the hovering helicopter.

"I can't tell you whether or not his visual acuity or whether or not the helicopter was blocked from view," McCarter said.

He added that the Cessna pilot had performed maintenance on the plane before the flight, but it is unknown if a mechanical issue contributed. The flight path was unusual, and investigators are examining why the plane approached in that direction and turned suddenly.

"I have no information at all to tell me either pilot of either vehicle was at fault. We are very early in the investigation to determine that," McCarter said.

The wreckage will be analyzed, and investigators will review the aircraft, pilot actions, and environmental conditions at the time of the crash.