A Pennsylvania State Police helicopter and a small airplane collided in midair near a central Pennsylvania airport on Wednesday evening, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the state's governor, CNN reported.

On Wednesday, the Bell 407 helicopter was approaching Carlisle Airport from the east when it collided with a Cessna 150 aircraft that was circling the field, according to open-source flight tracking information from ADS-B Exchange.

The wreckage of the helicopter, bearing the state police emblem, was seen lying on its side near the airport's runway in footage from CNN affiliate WPMT.

Two officers were on board the helicopter, but it was not immediately clear how many people were on the plane, the FAA said. The conditions of those involved had not yet been released.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro confirmed he was briefed on the incident and was travelling to the scene. "I've been briefed on the aircraft crash involving @PAStatePolice this evening in Carlisle, and I am heading there now," Shapiro wrote on social media, adding that he and his wife, Lori, were "praying hard" and asked fellow Pennsylvanians to join them.

Carlisle Airport is located about 20 miles west of Harrisburg and has a single runway measuring 4,000 feet in length. The airfield has no control tower, meaning pilots communicate their intentions over a common radio frequency—an arrangement typical at small airports.

The collision comes amid heightened attention to airspace shared between helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft following last year's fatal midair collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which killed 67 people. That crash involved a US Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet during landing.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the FAA will investigate Wednesday's crash. A final determination of the probable cause of an accident typically takes one to two years.

Source: CNN