New video obtained by NBC shows a Cessna 150 veering off the runway heading and colliding with a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter hovering in the infield at Carlisle Airport in Pennsylvania Wednesday. In a news conference NTSB investigator Aaron McCarter said the owner and pilot of the Cessna, who died in the accident, was based at Carlisle and had flown to another airport that afternoon after doing some kind of work on the plane.
He was landing behind the Bell 407 police helicopter when the aircraft took “an unusual path” and veered right into the helicopter. The landing gear contacted the helicopter’s rotor blades and the shredded wreckage of the 150 crashed on the infield while the helicopter dropped about six feet to the ground. The troopers in the helicopter were taken to a local hospital after fighting their way out of the damaged aircraft. One of the occupants was seriously injured, the other had more minor injuries and was able to help the other policeman out of the wreckage.
Rotor turbulence?
You can see it acting on the grass around it. 150 driver perhaps didn’t consider the rotor wake, poor guy.
That was the first thing I thought of when I saw the video.
The video pretty much proves it. So sad for the pilot of the plane, nothing he could have done once the rotor wash hit.
I have a bunch of videos of fixed-wing vs helo rotor wash encounters: they don’t end well. It’s serious stuff, but I don’t think a lot of fixed-wing pilots understand how bad it can be. This pilot could have been full left aileron and still gotten pulled in – I’m sure NTSB will be looking hard at that video.
The video from the news piece is grainy, but it does seem like the controls are attempting a left turn and the pilot was attempting a climb. Sadly there was not enough room or time and a life was lost.
This got me thinking about when I was flying as a GA PPL (low time). I may have actually landed at that airport back then, but if it was like many airports in PA, it was not tower controlled so traffic was just announced.
Had I been landing there, back at that time, I would not have thought twice about a helo’s rotor wash because I had not been told about its effects. Wake turbulence, yes. Like this pilot, I would have aimed for my landing and maybe suffered the same fate.
This then got me thinking about regulations, rules that we basically understand are written in blood. I know the NTSB will investigate and maybe it is extreme to say “one is too much”, yet that one has a family so it is more then one impacted. Is there a need for a explicit rule on helicopter wash tolerances near runways.
Maybe it just works out that you can’t teach everything, every possible “this may kill you” situation so learning is by doing, surviving, and learning from others, but man, sometimes it seems like a logical *rule* makes sense after a tragedy. Like, a helo can’t float next to a runway as close as X distance due to rotor wash.
I know now, if I was taking up my flying again, were I coming down final, seeing a helo floating next to a runway I’ll decide to go around because when I am low, slow, and preparing to flare for a landing is the last spot where I want to hit mechanically induced disturbed air.
My condolences to the pilot’s family and loved ones and I am grateful the troopers survived.
Think “360 degree wake turbulence” and you’ll be on the right track: the downwash produces a severely rotating airflow that will absolutely roll a small aircraft. And it can be surprisingly persistent:
https://youtu.be/WYg7S_HnWMw?si=x8Qe8B5HZ7flcsxf
I have several thousands of hours in both rotor and fixed wing aircraft and it has been my observation that neither community appreciates the severity of rotor wash. I had a helicopter hover over me from about 30 foot altitude while refueling a Luscomb and the aircraft was all over the place. This happened in Kingman Arizona. The helicopter in question was the air ambulance stationed there, so it was not being piloted by a neophyte.
I had this happen at KPOV a couple of weeks ago. A Chinook sat and hovered 20 yards off the runway for an hour. No clew what they were doing. Planes were landing as if they were not there. It’s not un-common to see this. At least for me it’s not.
Seen that one before…at least this time nobody crashed.
https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/45957/pdf
What ever happened to “rotor winged aircraft must avoid the flow of fixed wing traffic”?
Helicopter as doing training, nothing against flying an approach to a runway if you announce it on the CTAF, then it continued to hover to the grass area adjacent to the runway…
https://chatgpt.com/s/t_6a8857a182288191840ed3a0c140d1cb
At KSVR we have a Utah ANG base along with a ton of student flyers. The helo’s routinely hover practice for extended time at the rwy34 threshold. Just an accident waiting to happen.
Heli pilots are notoriously oblivious to other interests.
In 1990 I was flying a fixed wing chase plane on the first transcontinental flight of the Sunseeker1. This was a 180 lb electric sailplane. We got some attention by the media at our various stops and they sent out their news Helicopters. We talked to the pilots and begged them to remain well clear. They agreed and then immediately ignored any constraints, took their feed and left. Following that, we called the media every morning early and invited them to come and see us depart at 12:30- 1pm, when the sun angle was best for us.
We then took off at 10 or 11 am, before they arrived. That worked for the rest of the trip!
There are buffoons everywhere, and there are plenty of helo pilots who have never flown fixed wing. Still, I doubt we’re “notorious” for being oblivious. We spend a lot of time and cognitive effort trying to stay out of peoples’ way. We are well aware of the FAR and spend a lot of time figuring out how to stay out of the way while also not endangering people and property.
It’s hard to tell from the video how far the helicopter was from the runway or how long he had been there before the C-150 arrived. Anything less than a hundred feet or so is not the best choice. And to keep their tail to the landing traffic is also questionable. Without facts this simply what I’ll be looking for in the NTSB report.
Puzzling. Am I the only one seeing that when the Cessna enters the frame (~100+’ away from heli?) he already seems to be pointed far to the right of the centerline? I guess you could weathervane uncontrollably into the rotor wash but that seems a bit far away…? I looked frame by frame and I can’t see control deflections because of video quality.
I had an identical situation many, many years ago as a student pilot-except that I was taking off, not landing.
A Bell 407 was hovering in the exact same position relative to the runway, and I approached from his rear, just like the doctor in this accident.
When I hit the rotor wash, it was if the little C-150 had instantly flown into a complete vacuum. It dropped straight back to the runway like a set of keys from 5-10 feet in the air.
The helo then tried to blow me off the left side of the runway, but I somehow managed to regain control-luck not skill.
I then slowly taxied back to the ramp, fell out on my knees, and puked my guts out.
I must correct my old memory here. It was actually a Bell 206 that tried to kill me way back in 1974.
Initial reports are that the helicopter flew down the length of the runway before hovering to one side over the grass. The Cessna 150 was #2 in the traffic pattern. The Cessna pilot may have been in the flare when he ran into rotor-wash turbulence settling over the runway before getting close to the helicopter itself.
A pilot based at Carlisle says the NTSB has since gathered more footage than the one piece that was leaked. Hopefully we’ll get better details when the investigation is complete.
There is another report that the C150 was #1 in traffic pattern and the helicopter was initially on a 11 mile final, bullying his way to #1 instead of staying clear of fixed wing traffic like helicopters are supposed to do. So yes, we’ll have to wait for the final report to find out what happened on this tragic occurrence. Many years ago I saw a demonstration of helicopter wake turbulence at an airport ramp when a Cobra guard helicopter was hover taxiing close to a C150 and it took 4+ ramp persons hanging on to the wings and struts of the Cessna to keep the Cessna from being blown over.
Almost looks like the 150 was trying to a go around. Maybe didn’t realize the helicopter was there as he started his landing. Not sure of the dynamics but if he was doing a go around, would the blade dynamics have pulled him into the helicopter. Sad deal
Light Fixed Wing and Rotary Wing aircraft are incompatible in close proximity. Perhaps the helo should have found a field further from the runway.
no question. I have about 500 in 150, and before watching the FAA safety seminar on rotor wake I could have easily fallen for the same thing. The helo is in flight when hovering . the 150 gets caught, and instead of trying to pull up the only chance was to push. ASEL training is inadequate..
It looks like the rotor wash sucked him into the helicopter. The helo shouldn’t have been hovering that close to the runway. He should have moved a safe distance away immediatly, or announce he was doing training next to the runway. Those things are a definite menance when operating in proximity to fixed wing aircraft. They should never hover near an active runway. As this accident shows why.
My one & only accident in my 59 flying history was caused by this! The helicopter was on the ground between the runway and taxiway with the engine idling. I tried to contact him on the CTAF 3 times. He never responded. I started my takeoff roll and just as I was adjacent to him, he lifted off into a hover. A few seconds later my Moni Motorglider did a lomcevak at about 20′ altitude. Came down on the left wingtip and cartwheeled.
Because of the pilot protective construction of the Moni, I received only a small cut on my right knee. My Wife, on the other hand, who was watching, almost had a heart attack.
Years ago, while in a 172, I Commenced my takeoff roll down a 2500 ft. Paved strip. A Bell 206, ironically belonging to another State Police Agency than this one here, had just completed an approach at low level down the same runway as I was about to use and at midfield, side stepped left to the grassy area adjacent to the runway at about 50 feet altitude and continued to hover with his tail to departing traffic.
We were in radio contact as to our intentions. As soon as I was abeam the chopper, I was hit with a tremendous blast of turbulent air that was sucking me right into that idling chopper. I still do not know how I managed to avoid being sucked into the helicopter and how I managed to fly in ground effect and not stall the 172 and gradually climb out. A Unicom exchange between myself and that helicopter ensued afterward.