An investigation into the fiery crash of a medical flight in Northeast Philadelphia continued Saturday with the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board on the scene to search for answers to why the Learjet fell from the sky Friday night. Six Mexican nationals were on board the Jet Rescue flight when it
left Northeast Philadelphia Airport and within a minute crashed near Roosevelt Mall at Cottman Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard, an always busy
hub of activity with dozens of businesses and hundreds of homes . The pilots and passengers on board were all confirmed dead Saturday morning. City officials also confirmed one person on the ground was killed and 19 people were injured but cautioned those numbers could rise. According to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, the residents of Northeast Philadelphia saw "carnage in their communities, saw fuselage, saw destruction and saw things no one should ever have to experience in their neighborhoods" when they woke up and left their homes after the crash Saturday. In addition to the injuries on the ground, homes and cars were set ablaze when the Learjet 55 crashed in a massive, fiery explosion sending parts of the plane and other debris far and wide. The medical flight included the pilots, a medical crew and a little girl, who had been treated at Shriners Children's Philadelphia and was given a sendoff earlier Friday for her return trip to Mexico, the hospital said. Her mother was also on the plane. Pieces of the plane were still on the ground Saturday morning as the sun came up and the city got its first daytime look at the devastation in the area, including on Rupert Street, Calvert Street, the boulevard and Cottman Avenue. At least six burned-out cars and shredded pieces of the plane remained Saturday morning among the debris in a cordoned-off area on Cottman near Rupert Street, close to the spot of impact. The crash in Philadelphia comes in the wake of the
midair collision outside of Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people. The collision of an Army helicopter and American Airlines plane in the nation's capital was the
deadliest U.S. passenger air crash in over two decades, USA TODAY reported. Investigation of that crash is continuing.
National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said the cockpit voice recorder remains missing from the plane crash scene. These devices, commonly referred to as "black boxes," are often in fact orange, according to Homendy. She urged anyone who finds this item, or even pieces of it, to contact her agency. Findings and probable cause will be released later, Homendy added, confirming that the incident is considered an accident at this time.
NTSB says full team of 17 on the ground in Philadelphia
At a press conference Saturday afternoon at Northeast Regional Library in Philadelphia, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said a full team from her agency arrived in the city Saturday morning. Homendy said the team includes 17 people wih expertise in aviation safety. She added that her agency first had a presence on the scene within 90 minutes of the crash, which occurred at approximately 6:30 p.m. Friday.
NTSB press conference set for 5 p.m. Saturday
On the social media platform X, the National Transportation Safety Board announced that it plans to hold a media briefing on yesterday’s Learjet 55 crash in Philadelphia at 5 p.m. The briefing is to be held in the meeting room in the basement of the Northeast Regional Library at 2228 Cottman Ave. in Philadelphia. Chairman Jennifer Homendy is to be the speaker.
Residents describe shake and sound of NE Philly plane crash
Andre Gary thought the world was ending when he saw the jet sputter over his head outside of a Macy’s in Roosevelt Mall. He saw and heard the deadly crash in real time on Cottman Avenue on Friday night.“I still don’t know how I feel about it, it was just crazy.”Along the residential St. Vincent Street, police and media buzzed around while residents went about their regular Saturdays, shaken up by the prior evening's plane crash.Abdellah Rays said he felt the whole house shake and echoed the same stressed confusion others have. “We heard a big blast,” he said.At the corner of Bustleton and Cottman avenues, yards away from the debris, people gathered to get a glimpse of the wreckage.Andre Boldin said the plane sounded like a missile as it sputtered overhead. “Confusion, like what the hell is going on?” he said. John Schwartz thought we might have been under attack on Friday night when he saw the sky turn red from his house less than a mile away from the crash site.“I think then I saw the fireball over top of the houses, and I just went right out of the house and went to see what's going on,” he said. He said the response was immediate from Philadelphia first responders.
5 homes set ablaze in Philadelphia plane crash
The fireball that ignited when the medical flight crashed to the ground sent fiery debris into the neighborhood next to the shopping center where it crashed. Philadelphia fire officials said five homes were set ablaze, but that crews had all fire now extinguished. Shelter was set up for impacted residents. Officials did not say how many cars were impacted by the fire, but there is a lot of ground to cover. “The area of impact — that area is roughly four to six blocks, and we also have debris in remote areas where something happened with the aircraft,” city Managing Director Adam Thiel said. Property damage is still being investigated. If anyone in the area has any kind of debris on their car, then they should call 911. Officials said there is a possibility residents may find debris outside the immediate crash area.
1 dead on ground in Northeast Philly plane crash; 6 dead on plane
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker stressed that the investigation into the plane crash on Cottman Avenue is ongoing, and asked people in the area to stay home unless they have to leave. She said people will have no problem accessing their homes if their road is closed or under investigation. She confirmed the six deaths on the plane, and said there was an additional death of a person who was in their car when the medical flight fell to the ground in a fiery explosion. She did not identify any victims. "At least one other person perished," Parker said of the fatality on the ground, confirming for the first time a death not associated with those on the plane. Six Mexican nationals died on the plane. City Managing Director Adam Thiel said it is a "fluid" situation and those causality numbers could go up. "It will likely be days or more until we are able to definitively answer the question about the number of folks who perish in this tragedy and the outcome for those who are injured right now, I would certainly echo please pray for all those affected by otherwise," he said. Parker thanked first responders and said crews and investigators worked through the night and will continue to work to learn what happened. "But I want to be clear that we will find a cause for this tragedy," Parker said. Parker also asked Philadelphians and others not to come to the site, saying investigators need to be able to work the large scene uninterrupted. "Do not come to the site right now," she said. She stressed that there is no formal donation fund has been set up by the city or any other organization at this point. She said no donations are necessary, and that she wouldn't donate to a GoFundMe or other kinds of social media yet. "We appreciate everyone's desire to help, and if anything changes, we will let you know," she said.
PA governor says Philadelphia has full support, resources to investigate plane crash
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro underscored the holistic effort between the federal, state and local government at Saturday's press conference. He said he has been in contact with Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy since the crash. He also thanked the people working on the ground. "This is not just a group of emergency response professionals working together at the state, local and federal level," Shapiro said. "This is neighbors working together to look out for one another."
Northeast Philadelphia Airport tower: 'We have a lost aircraft'
Clues regarding the cause of a plane crash in the Northeast on Friday night weren't evident in recorded air traffic control communications. But, the communications caught when traffic control knew there was a problem. “Medevac med service zero-five-six, northeast tower, are you on frequency?” a controller asks almost four minutes after takeoff from Northeast Philadelphia Airport. A request for response from the aircraft is repeated by the controller. About five minutes later, another voice comes on the radio asking, "What's going on down there?" "We have a lost aircraft. We're not exactly sure what happened, so we're trying to figure it out. For now, the field is going to be closed, so no inbounds or outbounds probably,"
the operator responds . The Federal Aviation Administration has announced that it will be investigating the crash alongside the National Transportation Safety Board.
Philadelphia mayor releases new statement on deadly jet crash
While the scheduled news conference is delayed, Mayor Cherelle Parker released a new statement on X around 10 a.m. She and other officials have yet to confirm whether there were fatalities on the ground, but there were injuries. "This is a tragedy in our city,"
the mayor wrote. " People have lost their lives and many injured in this horrific crash and the damage is significant." She said she was grateful for the "rapid response" of first responders. Her message came just after officials confirmed the deaths of the six people on the plane.
Mexican president confirms deaths on medevec plane
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum
confirmed the deaths of the six Mexican nationals on the plane. "I regret the death of six Mexicans in the plane crash in Philadelphia, United States. The consular authorities are in permanent contact with the families; I have asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support them in whatever way is required. My solidarity with their loved ones and friends," she posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday morning. The pediatric patient and her mother were traveling home to Mexico after the little girl received treatment at Shriners. Hospital officials didn't disclose how long she had been in the United States or what she was being treated for. Four crew members were also on the plane, officials have said.
Authorities to give update on Northeast Philadelphia medevec crash
Authorities are set to gather at the massive crash scene, where debris and impacts spanned nearly a quarter-mile from where the jet fell to the ground, to update the investigation Saturday morning. They spoke not far from the large crater off Cottman Avenue where the medevec crashed shortly after 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Who was on the Jet Rescue flight that crashed in Philadelphia?
Jet Rescue spokesman Shai Gold confirmed late Friday that all six people aboard the jet were Mexican nationals including a child patient, the child’s mother, a flight doctor and paramedic, pilot and co-pilot. The company was contracted to transport the child from Philadelphia to Tijuana, Mexico, Gold said, but he could not provide any personal information about the child including an age or how long she was in Philadelphia receiving treatment. Gold confirmed that a third-party charitable organization paid for the flight, but he didn’t provide the name of the organization. “Our heart goes out to the families,” Gold said. “It’s really an irreplaceable loss.” Shriners Children’s said the child was given a special sendoff celebration hours before the crash. "Shriners Children is heartbroken to confirm that one of our pediatric patients and the child’s mother were aboard the Jet Rescue Air Ambulance that crashed in Philadelphia this evening. The patient had received care from Shriners Children’s Philadelphia and was being transported back to her home country in Mexico on a contracted air ambulance when the crash happened. Because of patient privacy concerns, we cannot say any more about the patient and her family at this time," the statement read. "Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of the medical crew and pilots who were also lost in this tragic event – as well as all of the people who were affected on the ground – and we’re thankful to the first responders for their quick action."
