Saturday, February 1, 2025

Medical Jet Crashes in Northeast Philly In Fiery Scene


UPDATE SATURDAY 12N:   A medical transport jet with six people on board plummeted to the ground near the Roosevelt Mall in Northeast Philadelphia Friday night, bursting into flames that spread to homes and cars in a heavily trafficked residential and commercial area and killing everyone on board the plane and at least one person on the ground.

The Philly Inquirer reports the Learjet 55 went down shortly after 6 p.m. near Cottman Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard just after taking off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, creating a chaotic and horrific scene of death and destruction.

The Death toll is now at Seven. At least one person on the ground — a person in a car — was killed, according to Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, and at least seven people on the ground have been reported injured.

A shelter has been established for those who could not get to their homes or whose homes were damaged in the crash and resulting fire.

Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board were at the scene Saturday morning and city officials said updates would be provided throughout the day.


What happened? A private medical transport jet took off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport just after 6 p.m. and within a minute appeared to have nosedived into a commercial and residential area of Northeast Philly.

Who was on the plane? The company said a pilot, copilot, flight physician and paramedic along with a pediatric patient and their escort were on the plane. The patient had been treated at Shriners Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia and was returning home with her mother on a “contracted air ambulance,” said a hospital spokesperson, describing the Shriners community as “heartbroken.”

Earlier Story...

A medical jet with six people on board — including a pediatric patient — crashed Friday evening near the Roosevelt Mall in Northeast Philadelphia, erupting into a massive fireball, scattering debris throughout the streets, and setting multiple homes and cars ablaze in a devastating scene.

In a briefing Friday night, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said there was no official number yet for how many people may have been killed or injured from the crash, but asked for the city’s prayers, and called the situation “all hands on deck.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports droves of first responders filled the area near Bustleton and Cottman Avenues — a mix of commercial and residential, surrounded by strip shopping centers and abutting neighborhoods of rowhouses. Thick smoke hung in the air as police ushered onlookers away from the scene, and the mall was evacuated. The mayor urged residents in the immediate area to stay inside and not interfere with the ongoing response and investigation.

Six patients were being treated at Temple University Hospital’s Jeanes Campus in the Northeast, according to a spokesperson. Three of the patients were treated and released, and another three remained hospitalized in fair condition, the spokesperson said.

The Learjet 55 departed from Northeast Philadelphia Airport just after 6 p.m. and crashed moments later near the mall, flight logs show. The aircraft was en route to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri, the FAA said. Flight logs show the plane was in the air for only a minute before it crashed. At the time of the crash, light rain and fog were in progress with visibilities lowered to 5 to 7 miles, said Jon Porter, chief meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc.

Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, a medical flight company, posted on LinkedIn that a Learjet 55 owned by the company, with the designation XA-UCI, crashed after taking off from Philadelphia. The company wrote that four crew members and two passengers, a pediatric patient and their escort, were on the plane.

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