Philadelphia: A small medical transport plane, a Learjet 55, crashed into several buildings in north-east Philadelphia on Friday (31st Jan) evening, causing fires and injuring people on the ground.
The plane was carrying four crew members, a child patient, and the patient’s escort on a medical mission.
The child, receiving treatment in the US for a life-threatening condition, was returning to Tijuana, Mexico, accompanied by her mother, a pilot, a copilot, a doctor, and a paramedic.
Witnesses reported hearing a loud explosion and seeing a massive fireball as the plane descended. The crash occurred just blocks from the Roosevelt Mall, a busy shopping center in a densely populated area.
The wreckage scattered debris and burning cars across the streets, with some witnesses describing the impact as feeling like an earthquake. Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker urged residents not to touch any debris and to call 911 for assistance.
Governor Josh Shapiro called the crash an “awful aviation disaster,” and emergency crews rushed to the scene.
The Learjet 55 took off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport around 6:30 PM local time and crashed less than four miles away, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Initially, the FAA reported two people were on board, but later updated the figure to six.
The flight was headed to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri. Data from FlightAware indicates the plane was operated by Med Jets and had arrived in Philadelphia from Florida less than four hours before the crash.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the cause.
President Trump expressed his condolences, saying his administration was “totally engaged” in the response.
The crash occurred just days after a deadly collision between a commercial jet and a military helicopter in Washington, DC, which killed 67 people, marking the deadliest plane crash in the US in over two decades.
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