Federal investigators say no pre-impact mechanical problems were found as they examine the August collision at Carlisle Airport.
CARLISLE, Pa. — Newly surfaced surveillance video shows a small airplane colliding with a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter at Carlisle Airport, providing a new public view of an Aug. 19 crash that killed the airplane’s pilot and seriously injured two state troopers.
The footage emerged as the National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report detailing the final moments before the collision. Investigators said the Cessna 150H and Bell 407 helicopter were communicating before the crash and that no evidence of a pre-impact mechanical malfunction or failure was found in either aircraft. The preliminary report does not determine a probable cause, and the federal investigation remains open.
The NTSB placed the collision at 6:52 p.m. Aug. 19. Pennsylvania State Police had initially described the crash as occurring at approximately 6:58 p.m. The Cessna pilot and sole occupant, 57-year-old Paul William Sokoloski of Hershey, was pronounced dead at the scene, state police said. Sokoloski was an emergency medicine physician with Penn State Health. The state police helicopter was carrying Cpl. Bryce Corman and Trooper Jason Mills.
The helicopter crew had departed Capital City Airport near Harrisburg and traveled about 15 nautical miles to Carlisle Airport for flight instruction exercises, according to the NTSB. Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast data showed the helicopter making a straight-in approach to Runway 28 and crossing about 50 feet above the runway threshold shortly before the collision. It then descended and began a low hover taxi along the runway.
At the same time, the Cessna was approaching the airport and entered the traffic pattern for Runway 28. A witness told investigators that the aircraft were communicating on the airport’s Common Traffic Advisory Frequency, which pilots use to announce their positions and intentions at airports without an operating control tower. The helicopter flight instructor also described those communications during an interview with investigators.
According to the preliminary report, Sokoloski asked whether the helicopter crew wanted him to extend the downwind portion of his approach. The flight instructor told him to extend it, and the Cessna pilot acknowledged the instruction and said he was second in sequence to land. Investigators said the Cessna later turned onto its base leg about 2,500 feet from the runway threshold and continued toward Runway 28.
ADS-B tracking of the Cessna ended shortly after that turn, but three airport surveillance cameras captured what followed. The NTSB said the helicopter crossed the runway threshold while the airplane was still on its base leg. About 30 seconds later, the Cessna crossed the threshold while the helicopter remained over the runway. Video showed the airplane flying low without touching down as its wings rocked and it made several vertical and sideways movements.
The helicopter continued forward and moved off the paved runway to the north, hovering over a grassy field with its nose pointed generally in the same direction as the runway. The helicopter pilots told investigators that their position and orientation prevented them from seeing the Cessna approaching from behind. The newly publicized footage shows the two aircraft drawing closer during those final seconds.
Investigators said the Cessna continued along the runway before pitching upward and beginning to climb. Near the top of that climb, its right wing dropped and the airplane turned right and descended toward the northwest. The aircraft then leveled its wings, pitched sharply upward and collided with the rear of the hovering helicopter, striking its tail rotor and main rotor blades. The NTSB said about eight seconds passed between the helicopter leaving the runway surface and the collision.
The collision caused substantial damage to the helicopter and destroyed the Cessna. Federal investigators recovered the major components of both aircraft along with avionics capable of storing digital information for additional examination. The preliminary report said damage patterns, including paint transfer and cuts to the aircraft structures, were consistent with the in-flight collision. Investigators also found no mechanical failure before impact that would have prevented either aircraft from operating normally.
State police said Corman and Mills were flown to Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center after the crash. In an Aug. 20 update, the agency said Corman had been released and Mills remained hospitalized in stable condition. The NTSB classified both helicopter occupants as having suffered serious injuries. More recent official information on Mills’ condition was not included in the preliminary federal report.
Sokoloski worked in emergency medicine at several Penn State Health locations, according to the health system. Penn State Health described him after the crash as a valued member of its emergency medicine team and expressed condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. Federal investigators identified the Cessna flight as a personal general aviation flight and the helicopter operation as a public-aircraft flight conducted by Pennsylvania State Police.
The NTSB has not assigned responsibility or determined why the Cessna’s final approach developed as shown in the surveillance footage. Investigators retained wreckage and recorded data for further examination, and the findings in the preliminary report remain subject to change as additional evidence is analyzed. A final determination of probable cause will come later in the NTSB investigation.
Author note: Last updated September 6, 2026.