Pilot killed as small plane collides with state police helicopter at Pennsylvania airport, officials say

One person was killed and two Pennsylvania State Police troopers were injured when a small plane crashed into a state police helicopter while it was hovering several feet off the ground during a training exercise at an airport in central Pennsylvania on Wednesday evening, authorities said. 

The collision at Carlisle Airport in Cumberland County involved a Cessna 150 and a Bell 407 chopper, the Federal Aviation Administration said. 

The pilot of the Cessna, who was its only occupant, was killed in the collision, acting Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Lt. Col. George Bivens said at a news conference Wednesday night. 

The two pilots aboard the chopper, who were members of the state police's elite aviation unit, were injured but are expected to survive, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said at the briefing. 

The helicopter, based out of Harrisburg, was conducting routine training exercises at Carlisle Airport when the crash occurred just before 7 p.m. local time, Bivens said.  

The helicopter was hovering several feet off the ground in a grassy area adjacent to a runway when a small Cessna "approached from behind" and lined up with one of the runways near that grass area, Bivens told reporters.

"As that Cessna came down along that runway, for an unknown reason, it veered hard to the right at the last moment," Bivens said. "It struck the helicopter from the rear. The pilots would not have been able to even see that airplane approaching them."

Pennsylvania State Police said in a later statement that the collision occurred while the helicopter was "on the ground."

Both the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board initially called the incident a midair collision.

Bivens described the crash as "violent," saying the helicopter "rolled inverted and crashed into the ground on its side and partially onto its roof."

"What is sticking in my mind, it was the crash, the loud sounds more than anything, just because it was so loud, it was kind of shocking," eyewitness Lloyd Slusser said.  

The Cessna pilot, identified by authorities as Paul Sokoloski, 57, died at the scene. Both helicopter pilots, later identified by state police as Cpl. Bryce Korman and Trooper Jason Mills, were initially trapped, but one of them was able to push out a window and get both of them out, Bivens said. 

"The pilot was in a little bit worse shape," Slusser said. "He kind of immediately went down. The first responders attended to him. I kind of stayed with the copilot."

They were taken to Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Dr. Ashley Ludwig, trauma director at the hospital, said during the briefing. Both sustained minor injuries and were stable. In an update Thursday, state police said Corman had been discharged from the hospital, while Mills remained hospitalized in stable condition. 

A Penn State Health spokesperson confirmed to CBS News that Sokoloski was an employee there. A profile on Penn State Health's website identified him as a doctor who specialized in emergency medicine.   

FAA and NTSB investigators responded and were investigating. The FAA said the NTSB would lead the investigation, with the FAA assisting.

"There is some video and photographs that are available that will be used to reconstruct what occurred," Bivens said.   

The NTSB said that after the wreckage is documented, it would "be moved to a secure facility for further examination."   

"Tonight could have been much worse, tonight could have been much more tragic for our state police family, thank God that it wasn't," Shapiro said. 

Carlisle is located about 120 miles west of Philadelphia.