A medical transport jet carrying a child patient and five others crashed into a Philadelphia neighbourhood about 30 seconds after taking off on Friday, erupting in a fireball and engulfing several homes in fire.
Jet Rescue Air Ambulance said the young patient and her mother were on board, along with four crew members. All six people aboard were from Mexico, that country’s foreign affairs ministry said in a post on X.
The child had been treated in Philadelphia for a life-threatening condition and was being transported on the small aircraft home to Mexico, according to Jet Rescue Air Ambulance spokesperson Shai Gold. The flight’s final destination was Tijuana after a stop in Missouri.
“When an incident like this happens, it’s shocking and surprising,” Mr Gold said. “All of the aircraft are maintained, not a penny is spared because we know our mission is so critical.”
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The Medevac Learjet flight crashed soon after take-off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport nearby. The six on board are confirmed dead. Information on any casualties on the ground was awaited.
“The patient had received care from Shriners Children’s Philadelphia [hospital] and was being transported back to her home country in Mexico on a contracted air ambulance when the crash happened,” the hospital said in a statement.
“Because of patient privacy concerns, we cannot say any more about the patient and her family at this time,” it said, confirming the loss of the passengers and crew.
The crash occurred at about 6.30pm local time, shortly after the flight took off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, the US Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
The jet was headed to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri to refuel before heading to Tijuana in Mexico, Gold told CNN.
The FAA and the US National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the accident. The Mexico-registered jet, built 43 years ago, is owned by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, according to Flightradar24.
Numerous videos posted on social media of the crash showed the aircraft explode, likely a result of the large amount of jet fuel it would have been carrying upon take-off.
Mr Gold told CNN the aircraft involved had an excellent maintenance record, and checks on the plane were up to standard.
The crash occurred less than 48 hours after a midair collision involving an American Airlines regional jet and a US Army helicopter in Washington, DC. There were no survivors in Wednesday’s crash, which took 67 lives, and was the worst fatal air crash in the US in decades.
US transportation secretary Sean Duffy said in a post on X that investigators were already at the crash site. He said he had briefed President Donald Trump and Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, and his department was offering full support to local officials.
The plane was registered in Mexico. Jet Rescue is based in Mexico and has operations both there and in the US.
A doorbell camera captured footage of the plane falling from the sky in a streak of white and exploding in a fireball as it hit the ground in a residential neighbourhood near a shopping mall and major roadway.
“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,” said Jim Quinn, the owner of the doorbell camera.
The crash happened less than three miles from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, which primarily serves business jets and charter flights.
The plane quickly disappeared from radar after taking off from the airport at 6.06pm and climbing to an altitude of 487m (1,600ft). It was registered to a company operating as Med Jets, according to the flight tracking website Flight Aware.
President Donald Trump posted on social media platform Truth Social it was “so sad” to see the crash. “More innocent souls lost,” he said. “Our people are totally engaged.”
The plane crashed in a busy intersection near Roosevelt Mall, an outdoor shopping centre where first responders were blocking traffic and onlookers crowded on to a street corner in the residential neighbourhood of Rhawnhurst. Philadelphia’s emergency management office said roads are closed in the area. – Agencies
