A Pennsylvania State Police helicopter and a small plane collided mid-air on Wednesday evening, officials reported. The Bell 407 helicopter and the Cessna 150 crashed about 110 miles (170 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia at 7:50 p.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Two aboard the helicopter
There were two people on board the police helicopter at the time of the incident. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was hurt, and there was no clear information on how many people were on the plane.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he had been briefed on the crash and was heading there. Images and videos shared on social media show the helicopter on its side near aircraft debris in a field, with a line of emergency vehicles present at the scene.
Training exercise before the collision
According to Colonel George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police, a helicopter crew based out of Harrisburg was conducting training at Carlisle Regional Airport around 6:30 p.m. before the crash. Bivens told Fox News: "As that Cessna came down along that runway for an unknown reason, it veered hard to the right. At the last moment, it struck the helicopter from the rear."
Bivens added: "The corporal was in a position to push out a window and assist the trooper, who he believed had some more serious injuries and had a lot of bleeding, was able to assist him out through that window and got both of them out of, out of the helicopter."
Investigation underway
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating the crash.
