Aircraft Pilot Dead After His Cessna Struck A State Police Helicopter At Carlisle Airport

A Cessna 150 collided with a Pennsylvania State Police Bell 407 helicopter at approximately 6:50 PM Wednesday at the Carlisle Airport in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, killing the pilot of the small plane and injuring two state troopers aboard the helicopter.

Both troopers, identified as Corporal Bryce Corman and Trooper Jason Mills, are expected to survive following treatment at Penn State Hershey Medical Center. Governor Josh Shapiro thanked medical staff and traveled to Carlisle.

State Police Colonel George Bivens described what happened: the helicopter was hovering over a grass area adjacent to the runway conducting routine training exercises when the Cessna veered off for an unknown reason and struck from the rear, hitting both the tail rotor and main rotor.

"The pilots would not have been able to see the airplane approaching them," Bivens said. He called it "a very violent crash." The helicopter came to rest on its side. The Cessna was in pieces.

The Carlisle Airport has no air traffic control tower. Pilots there share a radio frequency to communicate with one another.

That frequency and any video or photographs recovered from the scene are central to the NTSB and FAA investigation now underway. A preliminary report is expected within days.

The deceased pilot's identity was confirmed by the Cumberland County Coroner but had not been released publicly as of early Thursday morning.