A mid-size air ambulance plane carrying a sick child and five others crashed on Friday night shortly after taking off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, plowing into a residential area and setting off at least six house fires.
The crash occurred in the Northeast part of the city around 6:10 p.m, a city statement read. A medical transportation jet carrying a mother, daughter and four crew members were killed. One person who sustained injuries on the ground died.
The Learjet 55 aircraft was operated by Mexico-based air ambulance company Jet Rescue Air Ambulance.
The Mexican government said all those on the plane were Mexican nationals. Nineteen people sustained on-the-ground injuries.
The child was a girl on her way home with a final destination of Tijuana, Jet Rescue Air Ambulance told CNN.
Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro told a press conference at the crash scene that “we know there will be loss in this region”.
President Donald Trump wrote on social media that it was “so sad to see the plane go down in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More innocent souls lost.”
What damage was caused in the area?
CBS Philadelphia reports that multiple cars in the area werre by parts of the plane. Businesses in the area were also ablaze on Friday night.
Roads in the area were closed for hours with people advised to avoid the area. One local resident told CBS: “I just was driving and I saw a lot of police activity and then people texting me. I was close here and that there was a plane crash. And my daughter who GPS’d me, freaked, called me and was making sure that I was OK,” Jimmy Weis said.
A 10-year-old boy said he was returning from hockey when the horror unfolded.“I saw blinking lights coming from the sky. And I just saw them going down. It was really scary.”
Michelle Del Rey1 February 2025 20:50
Doctor on board flight identified
Dr Raúl Meza, the head of neonatology for XE Médica Ambulancias, a private emergency services company, was on board the aircraft, the company confirmed Saturday in an X post.
Meza studied medicine at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and pediatrics and neonatology at the National Institute of Pediatrics.
He was a physician assigned to the NICU at the Instituto de Salud del Estado de México in Atizapan, over 2,000 km from where the plane was due to land in Tijuana.
Michelle Del Rey1 February 2025 20:30
About 70 people remain without power
About 70 people remain without power in the area surrounding the crash site, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
PECO, the area’s energy provider, said it would be working to restore electricity once emergency officials determine it is safe to do so.
The number is lower than the initial 250 people who were without power just after the incident.
Michelle Del Rey1 February 2025 20:15
Death toll still unconfirmed – but officials ‘know there will be loss’
An official confirmation of the death toll from Friday’s evening’s crash is not expected until the morning, but there were six people on board the air ambulance that came down in a fiery crash and currently no reports of any survivors.
Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro said at a news conference late on Friday that officials expected fatalities in the “awful aviation disaster”.
“We know that there will be loss,” he said.
Six people were injured on the ground, but none are in a life-threatening condition.
Namita Singh1 February 2025 19:30
Philadelphia Eagles express condolences
“The Eagles organization was heartbroken to learn of the tragic loss of life earlier this evening as a result of the plane crash in North East Philadelphia,” the team said in a social media statement.
“We extend our condolences to the victims and loved ones they leave behind. We are grateful to the first responders for their heroic actions at the scene.”
Michelle Del Rey1 February 2025 18:42
People could have evidence from crash on their cars
Mayor Cherelle Parker wants city residents in the neighborhood where the crash occurred to check their cars for evidence.
The collection of evidence is essential to figuring out what happened, Parker said.
“If that’s you, don’t touch it. Just call 911 immediately,” Parker said.
The debris field is roughly four to six blocks and there is an additional remote area where “something” happened with the aircraft, the city’s Managing Director Adam Thiel said.
Thiel wouldn’t expand on his remark but said the National Transportation Safety Board would address it later.
Michelle Del Rey1 February 2025 18:16
Anyone concerned about a missing loved one is encouraged to call 911
Anyone who thinks that their friends or relatives were in the area where the crash occurred should notify authorities, Philadelphia Managing Director Adam Thiel said.
Michelle Del Rey1 February 2025 18:10
Philadelphia Managing Director Adam Thiel says it could be days or more before total number of casualties is known
There are a lot of unknowns about the number of people on the streets when the incident occurred, Thiel said during a news conference.
“It will likely be days or more until we are able to definitively answer the question about the number of folks who perished in this tragedy,” he said, explaining how he anticipates the number of casualties will change.
Michelle Del Rey1 February 2025 17:56
In photos: The scene on Saturday
Michelle Del Rey1 February 2025 17:20
Mayor Cherelle L Parker confirms seven dead, 19 injured
Seven people are confirmed dead and 19 injured after a plane crashed in North Philadelphia Friday.
Parker confirmed the development in a social media post. Six of the deceased were on board the aircraft while one individual was in a car.
Several dwellings and vehicles sustained damage in the crash. Local officials are working with state and federal partners to determine the cause of the incident.
“Much more work needs to be done. Please stay home and safe,” Parker said.
Michelle Del Rey1 February 2025 17:06
