1 dead, 2 injured in Pennsylvania aircraft collision

A pilot was killed and two state troopers injured when a state police helicopter collided with a small plane during a training exercise at a central Pennsylvania airport Wednesday evening, officials said.

The crash happened at Carlisle Regional Airport in Cumberland County, about 120 miles (193 kilometers) west of Philadelphia, police said, according to CNN.

The two-person helicopter crew was conducting routine training on a grassy area beside a runway when a two-seat Cessna Model 150 struck the helicopter from behind after traveling down the runway and veering right, State Police acting Commissioner Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens said at a news conference.

The helicopter was “several feet off the ground” when the collision occurred, Bivens said. “The pilots would not have been able to even see that airplane approaching them,” he said, calling it “a very violent crash.”

Bivens said both pilots were initially trapped inside the helicopter. One trooper managed to push out a window and help the other escape before emergency responders arrived.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash with assistance from Pennsylvania State Police, Bivens said.

The Cessna was believed to have had only its pilot aboard, though Bivens said that remains under investigation.

“Tonight could have been much worse. Tonight could have been much more tragic for our state police family. Thank god that it wasn’t,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said at Wednesday’s news conference.