Fiery plane crash in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A medical transport jet with a child patient, her mother and four others aboard crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood shortly after takeoff Friday evening, exploding in a fireball that engulfed several homes.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A medical transport jet with a child patient, her mother and four others aboard crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood shortly after takeoff Friday evening, exploding in a fireball that engulfed several homes.
All six people aboard were from Mexico. The child had been treated in Philadelphia for a life-threatening condition and was being transported home, according to Shai Gold, Jet Rescue Air Ambulance spokesperson. The final destination was Tijuana after a stop in Missouri.
The patient and her mother were on board along with four crew members. Gold said this was a seasoned crew and that everyone involved in these flights goes through rigorous training.
“When an incident like this happens, it’s shocking and surprising,” Gold told the AP. “All of the aircraft are maintained, not a penny is spared because we know our mission is so critical.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said late Friday that officials expect fatalities in this “awful aviation disaster.”
“We know that there will be loss,” he said.
The plane was registered in Mexico. Jet Rescue is based in Mexico and has operations both there and in the U.S.
The crash came just two days after the deadliest U.S. air disaster in a generation. On Wednesday night, an American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided in midair in Washington, D.C., with an Army helicopter carrying three soldiers. There were no survivors in that crash.
In Philadelphia, a doorbell camera captured footage of the plane plunging in a streak of white and exploding as it hit the ground near a shopping mall and major roadway.
