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.
