Small medevac jet crashes in Philadelphia with 6 on board
A medevac plane crashed soon after takeoff in Philadelphia on Friday with a child and five others on board, the air ambulance company that operated it said, adding that it had not confirmed any survivors.
Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, based in Mexico and licensed to operate in the United States, said its aircraft crashed with four crew members, one pediatric medical patient and the patient’s mother on board.
“At this time we cannot confirm any survivors,” the company said in a statement.
State and local officials said late on Friday they could not yet confirm how many people may have died on the ground after the plane slammed into a heavily populated portion of the city.
Videos taken by witnesses of the crash clearly showed body parts strewn about the streets and inside nearby homes.
The Mexican government said all those on the plane were Mexican nationals, CNN reported.
The child was a girl on her way home with a final destination of Tijuana, Shai Gold, who works on corporate strategy with Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, told CNN. Her mother was also aboard, he said.
Collision
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. Our people are totally engaged. First Responders are already being given credit for doing a great job.”
The crash follows this week’s collision of an American Airlines jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter over Washington, which killed 67 in the deadliest airplane crash in the United States since 2009.
The Federal Aviation Administration said six people were on the Learjet 55 that crashed around 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
