Posted on 08/20/2026 11:24:19 AM PDT by DFG
The pilot of a small airplane was killed and two Pennsylvania State Police troopers were injured after the plane collided in midair with a state police helicopter near the Carlisle airport in Pennsylvania's Cumberland Valley on Wednesday evening, officials said.
The Cessna 150 airplane crashed into the Bell 407 helicopter, which was conducting a training exercise, shortly before 7 p.m., Pennsylvania State Police Acting Commissioner Col. George Bivens told reporters at a press briefing.
The Cumberland County Coroner's Office on Thursday identified the pilot of the Cessna as Dr. Paul Sokoloski, 57, of Hershey, Pennsylvania. He was the sole occupant of the plane, state police said. Penn State Health said Sokoloski was a "valued member of our emergency medicine team."
A trooper and a colonel, who were inside the helicopter, were injured in the crash but are expected to recover, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro told reporters. He identified them as Cpl. Bryce Corman and Trooper Jason Mills.
"Tonight could have been much worse," Shapiro said during a news conference at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center on Wednesday.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
The Federal Aviation Administration arrived at the crash scene Wednesday night, and the National Transportation Safety Board was expected to arrive overnight.
Citing preliminary investigation, Bivens said the helicopter was hovering several feet above a grassy area adjacent to the runway at the Carlisle airport for the training exercise when the Cessna approached the airport's runway from behind. Bivens said the plane veered sharply to the right and struck the helicopter from the rear, resulting in a "very violent crash."
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.com ...
My heart is in my throat often, when I see small planes or helicopters. R.I.P.
Aviation ping.................😥
https://www.fox29.com/news/plane-helicopter-crash-involving-pa-state-police-carlisle-under-investigation
"...while hovering several feet off the ground in a grass area next to a runway...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." - Colonel George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police.
Sounds like the Cessna 150 got pulled into the ground vortex of the helicopter.
Dumbass location to hold a helicopter training exercise, IMHO...
Your science is bass-ackwards. Rotor wash blows out, it doesn't pull in.
The outwash creates lift. (It's a Cessna 150. They don't get much lighter than that). The downwash pulls it in.
Uhhhh... there's only one "colonel" in the Pennsylvania State Police and he was interviewed about the accident. I *think* the reporter misread his/her notes and that the second injured trooper was a CORPORAL. Big difference.
The PA State Police commissioner customarily holds the rank of Lt. Colonel or (full) Colonel. There are at least four Majors who administrate the various departments. So unless you are appointed commissioner by the governor... major is pretty much "it."
Cessna 150 may well have been a student pilot.
That and a hovering heli wouldn’t mix very well.
I’ve flown both a Cessna 150 and a Cessna 152 - great planes.
Rotor wash blows out, it doesn’t pull in.
= = =
Doesn’t it suck in from above?
he never stuck a piece of paper to the backside of a box fan.
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