Air Ambulance Plane Crashes in Philadelphia, Leaving Multiple Injured and Possibly No Survivors
A Jet Rescue Air Ambulance plane carrying six people, including four crew members, a pediatric patient, and the patient’s escort, crashed near a mall in northeast Philadelphia on Friday evening. The plane, a Learjet 55, departed from Northeast Philadelphia Airport en route to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri, but it is unclear where the patients were when the aircraft struck the ground.
The crash occurred at around 6:30 PM near Roosevelt Mall, an outdoor shopping center less than 3 miles from the airport. Witnesses reported seeing smoke and fire in the area. First responders were immediately dispatched to the scene, and six people were taken to Temple University Hospital, where three were in fair condition and three were treated and released.
The patient on board the plane was a child who was being transported to Mexico for “life-saving treatment” and was scheduled to return to Mexico via ground ambulance. The child was treated at Shriners Children’s Philadelphia hospital and was traveling with her mother, who was also on board.
The cause of the crash is not yet known, and the FAA and NTSB are investigating. The identities of the people on board have not been released. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has offered support to local officials, and the Mexican government has said that all six on board were Mexican nationals.
