FAA: Two killed in midair collision in Virginia
December 31st, 2010
04:01 PM ET

FAA: Two killed in midair collision in Virginia

An airborne single-engine plane collided with a medical-evacuation helicopter at Virginia's Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport on Friday, killing two people, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The incident involved a single-engine Cessna 172 and Eurocopter EC135 MedEvac helicopter, the FAA's Jim Peters said. The two who died were on the single-engine plane; the helicopter landed safely with no injuries aboard, the FAA said.

Read coverage from CNN affiliate WHSV.

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Filed under: Air travel • Virginia
soundoff (171 Responses)
  1. RUFFNUTT

    did they die in the crash or when they hit the ground?

    December 31, 2010 at 5:27 pm | Report abuse |
    • jodabe79

      the two persons were already deceased. It wasn't a pretty sight. my brother in law took a closer look. i could see from a few feet away that nothing could be done to help them.

      December 31, 2010 at 5:30 pm | Report abuse |
  2. bama

    most of you people on here are disgraceful. Two people died. What is the matter with you, grow up.

    December 31, 2010 at 5:29 pm | Report abuse |
  3. meee!

    But nobody thinks of the roghly 100 people that die on roads. .DAILY!

    December 31, 2010 at 5:30 pm | Report abuse |
  4. Bendix20

    What a sad way to end the year for the families involved. My heart goes out to them. I have flown in and out of Shennadoah Regional many times, not a busy airport and in wide open terrain. Not sure what happened but in time we will know. In any case the comments here show how sick some people can be.

    December 31, 2010 at 5:33 pm | Report abuse |
  5. bambam

    From my understanding the crash was when the hit the ground

    December 31, 2010 at 5:36 pm | Report abuse |
  6. bambam

    If the chopper landed safely it could not have been much of a hit between the two of them

    December 31, 2010 at 5:43 pm | Report abuse |
    • jodabe79

      it was a very light tap that the plane received from the helicopter. i was amazed at how little action it took for the wing to fall off of the plane.

      December 31, 2010 at 5:53 pm | Report abuse |
  7. bambam

    That was an act of god it was simply their time to go they will be missed hats off to the two pilots

    December 31, 2010 at 5:51 pm | Report abuse |
  8. bambam

    That was my gut felling it wasn't much of a hit

    December 31, 2010 at 5:57 pm | Report abuse |
  9. PJ4

    Helicopter was an Eurocopter EC135, grows weight 3200 pounds; cruise airspeed 158; helicopters built for rough landings and has a housing that encloses the tailrotor.. Cessna 172...gross weight 1600 lbs; cruise airspeed 120+; high-wing aircraft very difficult to see up. Damage wing flap, tail assembly in a cessna and you are spinning to the ground; crippling type of damage to undercarriage of this size of copter would requires omething bigger than a 172 climbing. Betting that Cessna was climbing and hit chopper from below. Goggle the copter...270* visibility...and they can turn or climb on a dime.

    December 31, 2010 at 6:22 pm | Report abuse |
    • jodabe79

      i still say the helicopter pilot had plenty of time to avoid the plane. and unless my eyes were deceiving me, which im pretty sure they wern't, the plane was descending for a landing. the only thing i think i would blame it on was the sun setting in the direction they were traveling.

      December 31, 2010 at 6:49 pm | Report abuse |
    • Lsaguy

      PJ, Depending on the model of 172 the gross weight is 2400 or 2500 lb., not 1600. It doesn't take much of a hit because airplenes are designed to be strong and light to hit air, not metal objects. The average thickness of the aluminum of a 172's wing is only 40 thousandths of an inch.

      January 1, 2011 at 1:55 am | Report abuse |
  10. News Wire

    Pilot error ... period !

    December 31, 2010 at 6:29 pm | Report abuse |
    • David

      Not necessarily.. Depending on the airfield, they could be providing radar separation. It could very well have been an air traffic mishap from the tower. Obviously, since you do not know, nor does anyone else except the dude here who witnessed it with his own eyes, it's always prevalent to close your mouth and keep it so as to avoid exposure, or expose those around you to your own ignorance of the issues at hand.

      December 31, 2010 at 7:10 pm | Report abuse |
  11. Jack Meoff

    I agree with gisele, muslims are better pilots.

    December 31, 2010 at 6:32 pm | Report abuse |
  12. Jim

    @Jack Meoff, well of course.

    December 31, 2010 at 6:34 pm | Report abuse |
  13. i rock

    Heard they were having trouble identifying the dead. .no teeth and the dna was the same

    December 31, 2010 at 6:34 pm | Report abuse |
  14. phil

    everyone knows that jack. that's like posting "the sky was blue that day"

    December 31, 2010 at 6:35 pm | Report abuse |
  15. Jack Meoff

    Gisele said it first!

    December 31, 2010 at 6:36 pm | Report abuse |
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