Overview
- A Pennsylvania State Police Bell 407 helicopter and a Cessna 150 collided in flight near Carlisle Airport on Wednesday, August 19, leaving the small-plane pilot dead and two state police aviators injured.
- Authorities say the two officers aboard the helicopter survived and were taken to hospital in stable condition while officials have not publicly released the identity of the deceased pilot pending family notification.
- The NTSB will lead the inquiry with FAA support and investigators are collecting ADS-B tracking data, wreckage, security video and witness statements to rebuild the sequence of events.
- Investigators are focused on operational details at the uncontrolled Carlisle airfield and the Cessna 150’s occupancy because the model is a two-seat trainer and it is unclear whether a second person was aboard.
- Publicly shared video and flight-tracking feeds have helped document the crash scene, and officials warn a final probable-cause finding could take many months or up to a year or two to complete.