שוידערליכע קראך אין די לופטן: קליינע פליגער קראכט אריין אין א פאליציי העליקאפטער אין פענסילוועניע.
A dramatic new video shows the moment a small Cessna 150 collided with a Pennsylvania State Police Bell 407 helicopter at Carlisle Airport on August 19, killing the plane’s sole occupant and injuring two state troopers. Footage recorded from a hangar appears to show the Cessna veering to the right during its landing approach before striking the hovering helicopter from behind. The collision triggered a violent crash that sent both aircraft down near the runway, leaving wreckage scattered across the airport grounds.
The Cessna pilot was identified as 57-year-old Paul William Sokoloski of Hershey, who died in the crash. The two troopers aboard the helicopter, Corporal Bryce Corman and Trooper Jason Mills, survived the collision and were taken to a hospital for treatment, with one reportedly released afterward. The helicopter had been conducting low-level training exercises when the collision occurred, adding another layer of complexity to an accident that unfolded in only seconds.
The newly surfaced footage provides a striking view of the final moments before impact, but investigators have not determined why the Cessna suddenly changed course. Authorities have said the airplane collided with the helicopter during landing, while the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board investigate the circumstances surrounding the crash. Until that investigation is complete, the apparent deviation seen in the video should not be treated as a confirmed explanation for what caused the collision.
The helicopter sustained catastrophic damage, including the loss of its rotor components and tail boom, before coming to rest on its side. The violence of the collision has prompted renewed attention to the risks faced when aircraft operate in close proximity around airports, particularly when a helicopter is conducting training near an active runway. The investigation will now have to reconstruct the aircrafts’ positions, movements, communications and visibility conditions in the moments before impact to determine exactly how the two aircraft ended up on a collision course.
The footage is likely to intensify public interest in the investigation because it captures the critical seconds that witnesses could only describe afterward. What appears to be a routine landing suddenly becomes a fatal collision, raising the central question investigators must answer: why did the Cessna move into the helicopter’s path with so little time for either aircraft to avoid the impact? The FAA and NTSB investigation is expected to provide the definitive account of what happened and whether any preventable factors contributed to the tragedy.
