Seven people are dead, including one in a car on the ground, after a twin-engine medevac jet carrying a child patient and her mother crashed in a neighborhood in northeast Philadelphia Friday night, Philadelphia’s mayor said Saturday morning. At least 19 were injured on the ground.
The six people on the plane were Mexican nationals, Mexico’s president said Saturday morning.
“I mourn the death of six Mexicans in the plane crash in Philadelphia, United States,” Claudia Sheinbaum said. “The consular authorities are in permanent contact with the families; I have asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support them in whatever way is required. My solidarity with their loved ones and friends.”
The plane crash, about 150 miles to the northeast of the Washington, DC, area came as authorities continue their probe into Wednesday’s deadly collision there. An American Airlines regional jet carrying 64 people and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter with three soldiers onboard collided over the Potomac River. All are presumed dead.
The Learjet 55 crashed after departing from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration told CNN.
On board were a pediatric patient and her mother returning home to Mexico after the child had been treated in Philadelphia, said Shai Gold, spokesperson for flight operator Jet Rescue Air Ambulance. The girl was being treated for an illness at Shriners Children’s Hospital in northeast Philadelphia, city officials said Saturday.
The downed Learjet was en route to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri, the FAA said. Gold told CNN the flight planned to stop for refueling at the Springfield airport before continuing to its final destination of Tijuana, Mexico.
Also on board were four crew members, Gold said – a pilot, co-pilot, paramedic and doctor. All six people on board were Mexican nationals, according to Mexico’s foreign ministry.
“It is entirely possible there will be changes to those casualty figures,” Philadelphia’s managing director Adam Thiel said Saturday at 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.”
Thiel said the area of impact from the crash is roughly four to six blocks, and officials have discovered debris around the city. “It’s a very widespread area and we’re still trying to determine the entire scope.”
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker urged residents who may have been in the area during the explosion to check their vehicles and property for potential evidence.
“Don’t touch it, just call 911,” she said.
The plane took off just after 6 p.m. ET and reached 1,650 feet before plunging, according to data from ADS-B Exchange. The data shows the final speed of descent was 11,000 feet per minute.
