Philadelphia

Medical jet crashes in Philadelphia, setting multiple homes on fire

Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, the plane's owner, said a pediatric patient who receive care for a life-threatening illness was on her way back home to Tijuana, Mexico.

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A medical jet with six people on board crashed into a busy section of Northeast Philadelphia on Friday evening, creating a massive explosion and a large emergency response.

The aircraft was transporting a pediatric patient from the Northeast Philadelphia Airport to Springfield, Missouri, when it went down near the Roosevelt Mall in Philadelphia. The plane, a Learjet 55, quickly disappeared from radar after taking off from the airport at 6:06 p.m. and climbing to an altitude of 1,600 feet. It was registered to a company operating as Med Jets, according to the flight tracking website Flight Aware.

Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, the plane's owner, said a pediatric patient who received care for a life-threatening illness was on her way back home to Tijuana, Mexico. Others on the plane included her mother, a pilot, co-pilot, doctor and a paramedic.

A variety of cameras around Philadelphia captured the moment a small plane crashed.

The company said, in part, "She fought quite a lot to survive, and unfortunately, this tragedy on the way home."

Jet Rescue Air Ambulance said it did not expect anyone to survive. As of late Friday, it was unclear if any fatalities had been reported on the ground.

Following the crash, Mayor Cherelle Parker issued a plea to residents near where the plane went down.

“We are urging you to please stay away from the scene," she said. "If you see debris, please call 911. Don’t touch anything, this is still an active scene under investigation."

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said at a news conference late Friday that officials expect fatalities in this “awful aviation disaster.”

“We know that there will be loss,” he said.

It's reported the plane hit at least one house and multiple cars; multiple homes also caught fire. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were sending teams to the scene to conduct an investigation.

The crash came just two days after the deadliest U.S. air disaster in a generation. On Wednesday night, an American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided in midair in Washington, D.C., with an Army helicopter carrying three soldiers. There were no survivors in that crash.

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