Young medical patient and mother among those killed in Philadelphia plane crash
A medical plane carrying a young patient and her mother has crashed in a heavily populated area of Philadelphia – killing all six people on board.
The Jet Rescue Air Ambulance was carrying the girl and her mother from Northeast Philadelphia Airport to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri – on their way home to Tijuana, Mexico, the company said.
It crashed about 30 seconds after taking off, erupting in a fireball and engulfing several homes in flames.
First responders at the scene. Pic: AP Photo/Matt Rourke
The plane came down near the Roosevelt Mall in the Rhawnhurst area of Pennsylvania at 6.30pm local time on Friday (11.30pm UK time). Four members of crew were also on board, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed.
The aircraft had climbed to 1,600ft (487m) and travelled around three miles (5km) from the airport – before it came down.
Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, which is based in Mexico, said: “At this time we cannot confirm any survivors.”
Shai Gold, who works in corporate strategy for the company, said it was “terribly shocked by this tragic turn of events”.
“This was a very seasoned crew,” she said. “We are a leading air ambulance company, we fly 600 to 700 times a year. We don’t really know what happened.”
Debris believed to be from the small plane on the ground in Philadelphia. Pic: @Kikatechusa via AP
Fire engines and other emergency vehicles were sent to the scene, with the blaze appearing to have been put out around two hours after the crash.
There were reports of people injured on the ground – but no details were confirmed.
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Smoke rises as emergency services work at the scene of the crash. Pic: Reuters
A doorbell camera captured the plane falling from the sky in a streak of white and exploding as it hit the ground.
The owner of the camera, Jim Quinn, said: “All we heard was a loud roar and didn’t know where it was coming from. We just turned around and saw the big plume.”
The moment of the crash was also seen on dashcam footage of a car driving nearby.
Michael Schiavone, 37, was at home in a nearby neighbourhood when he heard a loud bang and his house shook. He described it as a “mini earthquake” and when he checked his home security camera, it looked like a missile came down.
Philadelphia Governor Josh Shapiro said: “We want to offer our thoughts and serious prayers for those that are grieving at this moment.”
President Donald Trump wrote on social media that he was “so sad” to see the crash.
“More innocent souls are lost. Our people are totally engaged. First responders are already being given credit for doing a great job.”
The FAA said the National Transportation Safety Board would lead an investigation into the crash. The NTSB said an investigator has arrived at the scene – and more officials would be deployed on Saturday.
Smoke rises above houses after the crash. Pic: AP
Second US plane crash in a week
The crash comes days after a plane collided with a US Army helicopter as it came into land at an airport in Washington DC – killing all 64 people on board the plane – and three on the helicopter.
The aircraft had requested to land on the shorter runway at Reagan Washington National Airport – before it collided with the helicopter, and fell into the Potomac River at around 8.47pm local time (1.47am UK time) on Wednesday.
At a news conference on Friday, authorities said they have recovered 48 bodies so far – of which they have identified 28.
Head of Washington DC’s emergency medical services John Donnelly said he expects all the victims’ bodies to be found – but it would require the plane debris to be removed from the river.
Crews are currently working at the shoreline and more personnel were being deployed late on Friday, he said.
The driver of a car was also killed when a medical transport plane crashed in Philadelphia, the mayor of the US city has confirmed.
All six on board were killed in the crash – a young patient and her mother, on their way home to Tijuana, Mexico, along with four crew members.
At least 19 others were also injured in the crash, which left several homes engulfed in flames.
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Small plane crashes in Philadelphia
The child on board had just completed treatment for a life-threatening condition. The plane crashed around 30 seconds after taking off.
In a news conference on Saturday, Philadelphia mayor Cherelle Parker confirmed another person had died, who was on the ground in a car when the plane crashed.
She added the number of injured may rise.
Smoke rises above houses after the plane crash in Philadelphia. Pic: AP
Adam Thiel, managing director for the city of Philadelphia, said there were “a lot of unknowns” as to who was where on the streets when the plane came down.
It would likely be days until the total number of dead and injured was known, he said, adding teams were now going house to house to inspect dwellings as part of efforts to get a sense of how far debris was scattered.
Debris of the aircraft on the ground at the site of a crash in Philadelphia.
Pic: Reuters/Rachel Wisniewski
The plane came down near the Roosevelt Mall in the Rhawnhurst area of Pennsylvania at 6.30pm local time on Friday (11.30pm UK time).
Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, which operated the Learjet 55, previously said in a statement: “We cannot confirm any survivors.”
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The plane crash in Philadelphia.
Pic: @as1lmhsa
On Saturday, in a statement on social media, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the six people who died on board the plane were all Mexican nationals.
The child had received care at Shriners Children’s hospital and was heading to Missouri before flying onward to Mexico.
The crash came just two days after the deadliest US air disaster in a generation.
An American Airlines passenger jet and a military helicopter collided mid-air in Washington DC, killing 67 people.
US
Black Hawk helicopter was on emergency evacuation trial run before Washington DC crash, officials say
The Black Hawk helicopter which collided with a passenger plane above Washington DC was training for a hypothetical evacuation of US leaders at the time, according to US officials.
Three soldiers inside the military aircraft were killed as well as 64 people aboard the American Airlines jet.
The scenario involved practising the evacuation of high-ranking US officials, Reuters reported.
An investigation into the cause of the catastrophe is ongoing.
A Coast Guard vessel with a crane works near the helicopter wreckage in the Potomac River. Pic: AP
It has emerged that the helicopter had been on a training flight along a route core to a seldom-discussed military mission – to evacuate senior officials to safety in the event of an attack on the US, officials say.
The mission is known as “continuity of government” and “continuity of operations” and is meant to preserve the ability of the government to operate in a disaster scenario.
The rough last known location of American Airlines Flight 5342 before the crash
New US defence secretary Pete Hegseth revealed the Black Hawk crew’s training mission on Thursday, saying they “were on a routine, annual re-training of night flights on a standard corridor for a continuity of government mission”.
The army has come under scrutiny for flying at night near a busy airport, but officials pointed to the sensitive nature of the operation.
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“Some of their mission is to support the department of defence if something really bad happens in this area, and we need to move our senior leaders,” said Jonathan Koziol, the chief of staff of the army’s aviation directorate.
The most recent time the mission is known to have been carried out – for real – was on September 11, 2001, when a Black Hawk was sent to collect then deputy secretary of defence Paul Wolfowitz following the terror attacks on New York and Washington.
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