A fatal collision occurred at Carlisle Regional Airport in Pennsylvania on Wednesday evening. A small Cessna 150 airplane collided with a Pennsylvania State Police Bell 407 helicopter during routine training exercises leaving the airplane’s pilot dead and two state troopers injured.
Details of the collision
The helicopter was hovering a few feet off the ground in a grassy area near the runway when the landing Cessna suddenly changed course. Lt. Col. George Bivens explained:
“As that Cessna came down along that runway, for an unknown reason, it veered hard to the right. At the last moment, it struck the helicopter from the rear.”
The impact destroyed the plane and tore off the helicopter’s tail boom.
Escape and casualties
The Cessna pilot died instantly at the scene. Bivens described the extreme force of the impact noting, “When I say it was a very violent crash, that plane was cut into a lot of pieces.”
Despite being trapped inside the flipped helicopter, both troopers survived. One officer managed to “push out a window and assist the trooper” to escape the wreckage.
Official response and investigation
Governor Josh Shapiro expressed gratitude for the surviving troopers, stating, “Tonight could’ve been much worse. Tonight could’ve been much more tragic for our state police family.”
Federal investigators from the FAA and NTSB are currently probing the crash, analyzing radio communications to determine why the plane veered off course.
