Police Helicopter and Plane Collide at Pennsylvania Airport
Police Helicopter and Plane Collide at Pennsylvania Airport
The News
A Pennsylvania State Police helicopter and a small plane collided in midair at Carlisle Airport in central Pennsylvania on Wednesday evening, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The FAA identified the aircraft as a Bell 407 helicopter and a Cessna 150. Two people were aboard the helicopter; the agency did not say how many were aboard the plane.
A coroner was called to the airport, in South Middleton Township, Cumberland County. Officials had not confirmed any injuries or deaths as of Wednesday night.
Samantha Krepps, a spokeswoman for Cumberland County, confirmed to CBS News that the helicopter belonged to the Pennsylvania State Police.
Timeline
911 dispatchers put out the call about a collision at Carlisle Airport, according to PennLive. An FAA spokesman told WTAJ the crash happened around 6:50 p.m. In a later statement, the FAA put the collision at 7:50 p.m. ET.
Dozens of emergency vehicles, including fire trucks and police cruisers, reached the scene. A helicopter lay flipped on its side beside the runway, smoking, with a small Cessna and a detached, smoking propeller nearby, PennLive reported.
Witnesses said EMS crews loaded a patient onto a Life Lion medical helicopter based at the airport, and a second Life Lion arrived to retrieve another victim.
Gov. Josh Shapiro said he had been briefed and was heading to Carlisle.
The airspace around Carlisle Airport has been closed, dispatchers said. Visibility at the airport was clear at the time of the collision.
Reactions
"Lori and I are praying hard and we ask all of our fellow Pennsylvanians to join us," Shapiro wrote on social media after being briefed.
Neighbors Patrick Brown and Lloyd Slusser told PennLive they squeezed past a fence and ran into the field to help, and that they saw two troopers in the helicopter and one person in the plane. Both men said they had seen the State Police helicopter flying low and doing maneuvers beforehand, which they described as common at the airport.
Laura Southerland, who was at a jiu jitsu gym near the runway with her 11-year-old son, said the boy saw the helicopter flying low and then heard a "boom." "It's like a great airport with a lot of traffic, but it's never had a problem," she said. Residents of a townhome development next to the airport said they heard a loud bang and saw plumes of smoke.
What's Next
The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation, with the FAA assisting, the FAA said. The NTSB will provide updates.
Investigators have released no cause and no account of what led to the collision. Casualty figures, and the number of people aboard the Cessna, are expected from local authorities and the NTSB.
More
Carlisle sits about 120 miles west of Philadelphia. Southerland noted the airport has drawn heavy traffic recently, including during President Trump's visit to the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle.
Accounts of the timing differ: dispatchers logged the call shortly before 7 p.m. and an FAA spokesman initially cited about 6:50 p.m., while the FAA's later statement gave 7:50 p.m. ET.
UMass Dartmouth Running Back, 18, Stabbed to Death
Trump Vows 'AI Force,' Czar; Polls Name Change
Sep 20, 2026
Iran Sends Trump Three Conditions to End War
Sep 19, 2026
Faulty AI Intel Nearly Started War With China
Sep 19, 2026
German General Breuer Elected NATO's Top Officer
Sep 19, 2026
Nobel Laureate: War, Sanctions Crushing Iranians
Sep 19, 2026
Dutch Police Disperse Violent Far-Right Hague Protest
Sep 19, 2026
GOP Midterm Odds Fade With 45 Days Left
Sep 19, 2026
Maher Rejects Tarlov's Claim Democrats Are Less Crazy
Sep 19, 2026
Patrick Clancy Breaks Silence After Ex-Wife Killed Kids
Sep 19, 2026
Trump Cuts Park Staff, Diverts Fees to DC
Sep 19, 2026
Holocaust Heirs Sue LA Museums Over Looted Art
Sep 19, 2026
Trump's Fed Chair Hikes Rates, Defying White House
Sep 19, 2026
Miller Drives Push to Deport Illegal Immigrant Children
Sep 19, 2026
US Lifts Sanctions on Eritrea's Military, Ruling Party
Sep 19, 2026
Air Force Admits US Has Space Weapons
Sep 19, 2026
Turkey Revokes License of Iran's Mellat Bank
Sep 19, 2026
Billionaire Ratcliffe Blasts Britain Over Immigration, Taxes
Sep 19, 2026
Navajo Nation Flash Flood Kills Three
Sep 19, 2026
Explosions Over Riyadh Trigger Saudi Air Alerts
Sep 19, 2026
Sep 19, 2026