Small plane, state police helicopter collide in midair over Pennsylvania
A small plane and a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter were involved in a midair collision in central Pennsylvania on Wednesday night, authorities said.
A small plane crashed into a state police helicopter during a training exercise at Carlisle Airport in Pennsylvania, resulting in one fatality and two injuries. The Cessna 150, carrying only its pilot, collided with a Bell 407 helicopter operated by the state police's elite aviation unit. The Cessna approached from behind, veered sharply, and struck the helicopter from behind while it was hovering several feet off the ground.
The Cessna's pilot, Paul Sokoloski, was killed at the scene, while both helicopter pilots were initially trapped but eventually freed by another pilot and taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The helicopter accident occurred just before 7 p.m. local time on Wednesday evening. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Acting State Police Commissioner Lt. Col. George Bivens confirmed the incident, describing it as violent and emphasizing the shock it caused to eyewitnesses.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) would lead the investigation, with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) assisting.
Written by urgent.news from CBS News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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