Airplane pilot killed in violent collision with Pennsylvania police helicopter

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating. Representational Pic/File

An airplane pilot died Wednesday after a violent collision with a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter near a runway at a small airport, but both state troopers aboard the helicopter survived, authorities said.

The plane was coming down on the runway and veered into the helicopter that was near the ground, Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens, the state''s acting police commissioner, said during a news conference. The FAA and NTSB called it a midair collision but state police didn''t clarify if the plane was off the ground.

"When I say it was a very violent crash, that plane was cut into a lot of pieces," he said, explaining that part of the investigation will be making sure the pilot was the only person on board. He said the helicopter lost its blades and tail boom and crashed onto its side.

The crash at the small airport in Carlisle, about 170 kilometers northwest of Philadelphia, involved the Bell 407 helicopter and the Cessna 150, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The Cessna is a two-seat aircraft that is typically used as a trainer aircraft, according to Bivens.

Both of the pilots in the helicopter were trapped until one pushed out a window and helped the other out through it, said Bivens. The pilots, who are from the police''s elite aviation unit and had been performing a training exercise, are stable.

"Tonight could''ve been much worse," said Governor Josh Shapiro. "Tonight could have been much more tragic for our state police family."

Officials are not releasing information about the person who died in the crash until the person''s next of kin are informed.

Photos and video on social media showed a helicopter on its side near aircraft debris in a field and a line of emergency vehicles near Carlisle.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he's been in touch with the governor.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever