Data cards retrieved from plane and helicopter that collided in deadly Pennsylvania airport crash
CARLISLE, Pa. (AP) — Federal investigators have pulled intact data cards from a state police helicopter and Cessna plane that collided at a small airport in central Pennsylvania, killing the plane’s pilot.
Aaron McCarter, investigator-in-charge with the National Transportation Safety Board, called the recovery of the cards “very good news from a data standpoint” during a media briefing Friday morning. But neither aircraft was required to have the black boxes that airliners must have to record flight data and cockpit audio, McCarter said.
"We don't know exactly what kind of parameters are on these data cards, but in some cases we get fortunate" and the cards have robust flight data, McCarter said.
The data cards will be reviewed over the weekend as investigators try to determine why the Cessna clipped the helicopter during takeoff Wednesday night, McCarter said. The pilot of the plane was killed, and two people inside the helicopter were injured.
The crash at the small airport in Carlisle, about 110 miles (170 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia, involved a Bell 407 helicopter and Cessna 150, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The Cessna was attempting to land when it veered to the side and collided with the rear of the police helicopter, which was hovering above a grassy area beside the runway as part of a training exercise.
The small plane struck the tail of the hovering helicopter, killing the Cessna pilot and sending both aircraft to the ground in pieces.
McCarter said Friday the helicopter was about 30 to 50 feet (9 to 15 meters) away from the runway. He said as the Cessna approached, it appeared to "be out of control."
Both pilots were flight instructors, and they have strong evidence the Cessna pilot was made aware of the helicopter nearby, McCarter said. The flight path of the plane was unusual and its pilot had been doing maintenance on the Cessna before the flight, he said.
An aviation expert who viewed a crash video said it was his impression that the Cessna had a mechanical problem that caused it to veer off-course.
“I believe (the Cessna was) experiencing some type of flight control problem or mechanical problem of some sort,” said John Cox, a former airline pilot and CEO of Safety Operating Systems.
“The nose is awfully high and the airplane was veering off to the side, which the pilot would not want to do knowing the helicopter was there,” Cox said. He said investigators would consider all factors, including whether force from the helicopter's propeller could have affected the plane's flight.
The NTSB said that witnesses saw the Cessna pilot performing maintenance on his plane earlier in the day before the crash, but McCarter said it is too early to know if that was related. Investigators don’t know yet what the pilot was doing to his plane.
“You have to keep an open mind as an investigator, so you look at all of it,” Cox said.
McCarter said the wreckage of both aircraft have been salvaged and will be moved to a Delaware facility for examination.
The pilot of the plane was identified as 57-year-old Paul William Sokoloski.
Both helicopter pilots, Cpl. Bryce Corman and Trooper Jason Mills, were trapped until one pushed out a window, state police said. Corman is out of the hospital, and Mills was still recovering with a good prognosis, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Thursday.
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AP Transportation Writer Josh Funk contributed to this story from Omaha, Nebraska.
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