A pediatric patient, who had recently received life-saving medical treatment in the US, was on the way back to Mexico aboard a Learjet 55 air ambulance that tragically crashed in a fiery explosion in northeast Philadelphia on Friday night.
The aircraft, operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, was bound for Tijuana, Mexico with a stop at Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri.
The plane had just taken off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport when it plummeted into a densely populated area killing six.
The crash site, near Cottman Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard, quickly became engulfed in flames, with buildings and vehicles caught in the inferno.
Jet Rescue Air Ambulance spokesman, Shai Gold, confirmed the devastating news, highlighting the young girl’s determined fight for survival against her illness.
‘She did her course of care. She was going home,’ Gold said. ‘She fought quite a lot to survive, and unfortunately, this tragedy on the way home.’
Also onboard the doomed flight were the girl’s mother, a pilot, a co-pilot, a doctor, and a paramedic, all of whom had committed themselves to ensuring the safe journey home for the child. However, in a cruel twist of fate, the trip ended in tragedy.
The Learjet 55, often used for critical medical transport, is a lifeline for patients like the young girl who was onboard.
The girl was a patient of Shriners Children’s Philadelphia, the hospital confirmed.
A young pediatric patient who had just undergone life-saving medical treatment in the U.S. was onboard the Learjet 55 air ambulance that crashed in a fiery explosion in northeast Philadelphia
The plane had just taken off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport when it plummeted into a densely populated neighborhood killing six
Thick black smoke could be seen billowing into the air following the fiery crash
With sponsorship from a third party charity, the girls had traveled to the U.S. for urgent medical care that had given her another chance at life.
‘Shriners Children’s is heartbroken to confirm that one of our pediatric patients and the child’s mother were aboard the Jet Rescue Air Ambulance that crashed in Philadelphia this evening,’ the facility said in a statement.
‘The patient had received care from Shriners Children’s Philadelphia and was being transported back to her home country in Mexico on a contracted air ambulance when the crash happened. Because of patient privacy concerns, we cannot say any more about the patient and her family at this time.’
The aftermath of the catastrophe was captured on harrowing drone footage, which showed the chaotic scenes on the ground.
In a one-minute video shared to X, the busy street lined with homes and businesses was completely engulfed in massive, bright-orange flames.
Thick, dark plumes of smoke were seen saturating the sky above as dozens of fires continued to ravage the road below.
Multiple homes facing the road were seen swallowed in flames as the bright lights of responding emergency vehicles blocked off the area on both sides.
Businesses near the Roosevelt Mall were also captured ablaze as well as several cars parked along the street.
The lit-up debris was seen scattered throughout the entirety of the neighborhood.
The fiery disaster was also captured on doorbell footage, which showed two unsuspecting people leaving their home.
Just seconds into the clip, a white orb is seen picking up speed before a bright light filled the sky – sending the witnesses into a bout of full-fledged terror.
The people in the video were heard letting out gut-wrenching screams as they rushed back inside to shield themselves from the disastrous wreck.
The blaring explosion, which sounded like shattering glass, was followed by an orange tint filling the sky above.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have launched an investigation into the cause of the crash.
The devastation was immediate, with first responders racing to the scene near Roosevelt Mall as plumes of smoke filled the evening sky.
The Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management declared a ‘major incident’ and urged residents to avoid the area as firefighters battled the intense flames.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro expressed his condolences on social media, assuring the public that all necessary resources were being deployed.
‘We are offering all resources as emergency services respond to the small private plane crash in Northeast Philly,’ he wrote. ‘We’ll continue to provide updates as more information is available.’
The crash comes just days after another catastrophic air disaster, in which a passenger jet and military helicopter collided off Washington’s Reagan National Airport, killing 67 people – the deadliest aviation accident in the United States in nearly 25 years.
