PHILADELPHIA – A medical transport plane carrying a child, her mother, and four other people crashed near a mall in Northeast Philadelphia on Friday, killing everyone on board and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
The Learjet 55 was en route to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri when it went down around 6:30 p.m. The plane, operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, was carrying a child who had received care from Shriners Children’s in Philadelphia and was being taken back to her home country of Mexico, along with her mother.
The plane crashed near the Roosevelt Mall, causing a large fire that prompted a significant response from emergency crews. Vehicles, homes, and even people in the area could be seen on fire.
“It was just horrific. I was just driving down the street, coming to Wendy’s and I just saw a plane basically hit the building and it exploded. The sky lit up and I pulled over and basically, it was just real bad around here,” said a witness who described the incident as “earthquakish.”
The Philadelphia Fire Department advised residents to avoid the area and not touch any debris. A shelter was set up at Samuel Fels High School for those affected by the crash.
Temple University Hospital reported receiving six patients hurt in the crash, although it was unclear where and how they were injured. Three of those patients were treated and released, while three remain hospitalized in fair condition.
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said none of its patients were on board the plane, and the flight was not affiliated with its hospital.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro praised the response efforts of the Philadelphia Fire Department and Philadelphia Police Department, saying “Tonight we saw the best of Philly. We saw neighbor helping neighbor. We saw Pennsylvanians looking out for one another.”
The FAA issued a ground stop at Northeast Philadelphia Airport due to the crash, and a massive emergency response effort was underway, with 45 state troopers, 25 members of PennDOT, and members of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Authority and Department of Environmental Protection on the scene.
An investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing, with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sending teams to the scene. The crash came just two days after the deadliest U.S. air disaster in a generation, in which an American Airlines jet collided in midair with an Army helicopter in Washington, D.C.
Weather conditions at the time of the crash included light rain and fog, with visibility of 5-7 miles and a base layer of clouds at 400-600 feet above the ground. Winds were reported to be 10 mph from the southwest.