Medical Plane With Child, 5 Others Aboard Crashes in Philadelphia
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said at a news conference late Friday that officials expected fatalities in the “awful aviation disaster.”
A medical transport jet carrying a child patient, her mother, and four others crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood shortly after takeoff on Friday, with the incident leaving homes and cars in flames.
Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, which operated the Learjet 55, said in a statement: “We cannot confirm any survivors.” There was no immediate word whether anyone on the ground was killed.
All six people aboard were from Mexico. The child had been treated in Philadelphia for a life-threatening condition and was being transported home, according to Jet Rescue spokesperson Shai Gold. The flight’s final destination was to have been Tijuana after a stop in Missouri.
The patient and her mother were on board along with four crew members. Gold said this was a seasoned crew and everyone involved in these flights goes through rigorous training.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said at a news conference late Friday that officials expected fatalities in the “awful aviation disaster.”
“We know that there will be loss,” he said.
The plane quickly disappeared from radar after taking off from the airport at 6:06 p.m. and climbing to an altitude of 1,600 feet. It was registered to a company operating as Med Jets, according to the flight tracking website Flight Aware.
The plane crashed in a busy intersection near Roosevelt Mall, an outdoor shopping center in the densely populated neighborhood of Rhawnhurst. The crash happened less than 3 miles from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, which primarily serves business jets and charter flights.
Video shared on social media shows the plane streaking toward the ground before a massive explosion lights up the evening sky.
Other footage shows black smoke billowing from what appears to be burning plane wreckage on a city street, with debris littering the ground and stunned onlookers on the street.
Another video shows police cordoning off the scene as firefighters deal with multiple fires.
By Tom Ozimek
