Updated

Updated · 69News WFMZ-TV · Aug 20

Penn State Doctor, 57, Identified in Fatal Cessna-Helicopter Crash That Injured 2 Troopers

Updated

Updated · 69News WFMZ-TV · Aug 20

Penn State Doctor, 57, Identified in Fatal Cessna-Helicopter Crash That Injured 2 Troopers

Q: What crucial communication failure led a landing plane to strike a police helicopter at a non-towered Pennsylvania airport?

The key failure appears to have been a breakdown in pilot-to-pilot traffic coordination on the airport’s common traffic advisory frequency, or CTAF, at Carlisle’s non-towered field. Because Carlisle Airport has no control tower, arriving and operating aircraft must self-announce their positions and intentions on a shared radio frequency and rely heavily on visual separation. Authorities have said the State Police Bell 407 was off the runway, hovering or working over a grassy area during a training exercise, when the landing Cessna 150 veered at the last moment and struck the helicopter from behind. Investigators have not yet issued a final cause, but the crucial issue raised by the circumstances is whether the Cessna pilot and the helicopter crew adequately heard, made, or understood each other’s CTAF calls and relative positions. At a non-towered airport, there is no controller to sequence traffic or warn of conflicts; safe operations depend on standard radio calls, predictable traffic patterns, and see-and-avoid. That makes the likely communication failure not a breakdown with air traffic control, but a failure of shared situational awareness between the two aircraft at an uncontrolled airport. The FAA and NTSB investigations are expected to determine whether missed, absent, blocked, or misunderstood CTAF transmissions contributed to the collision.

3 articles · Updated · 69News WFMZ-TV · Aug 20

Paul Sokoloski, 57, a Penn State Health emergency medicine doctor from Hershey, was identified as the pilot killed in Wednesday night's mid-air collision at Carlisle Airport.
At about 6:52 p.m., the two-seat Cessna approached a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter from behind as it hovered near a runway during training, then veered right into the aircraft's tail rotor and main rotor.
Two troopers in the helicopter—Corp. Bryce Corman and Trooper Jason Mills—survived the violent crash after Corman broke out a window and pulled Mills from the wreckage; Corman has been discharged and Mills is expected to be released soon.
Penn State Health said it was mourning Sokoloski's death, while the FAA and NTSB are investigating what caused the Cessna to veer into the helicopter.