An aerial ambulance that transported six people crashed near a mall in the northeast of Philadelphia on Friday night, said the company that operates the plane.
Jet Rescue Air Ambulance said he could not confirm any survivor among those who on board his plane, which included four crew members, a pediatric patient and the patient’s escort, according to a statement.
“Our immediate concern is for the patient’s family, our staff, their families and other victims who may have been hurt on the ground,” said the company. A spokesman said it is unlikely that someone on board would survive.
Mayor Cherelle Parker said at a night press conference that the total number of deaths was not yet known. She said “several homes and vehicles were affected.”
Six people with injuries attributed to the accident were taken to the Hospital of the University of Temple: the Jeanes Campus, near the northeast of Philadelphia, where three were in fair conditions and three others were treated and released, said a spokesman for the institution.
It was not clear where the patients were when the plane hit the ground.
The Learjet 55 left the Northeast of Philadelphia airport on the way to the Springfield-Benson National Airport in Missouri, FAA said in a statement.
On board were the pilot, a co -pilot, a doctor, a paramedic, the patient and the patient’s escort, said Jet Rescue Air Ambulance.
A company spokesman Shai Gold told NBC Philadelphia that the patient was a child who had come to the United States to “treatment to save lives” and returned to Mexico.
“The treatment continued its course. He was ready to go home and hired us to bring her back to Mexico,” Gold said. “The final destination was Tijuana International Airport and was scheduled to go home in land ambulance.”
He said the cost of the flight was covered by an international beneficial organization.
A spokesman for the Shriners Children’s Philadelphia Hospital said in a statement to the station that the child had been treated in the institution and traveled with his mother.
“Shriners Children’s is disconsolate when confirming that one of our pediatric patients and the child’s mother were aboard the air rescue ambulance that crashed into Philadelphia tonight,” said the spokesman.
The identities of people on board have not been publicly published.
The plane crashed around 6:30 pm. Near Roosevelt Mall, an outdoor shopping center about 3 miles from the airport, according to officials.
The video showed smoke and fire in the accident area.
“The FAA and NTSB will investigate,” said the FAA, referring to the National Transport Security Board. “The NTSB will direct the research and provide all updates.”
The governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, said in X that he is in contact with Philadelphia officials and will provide updates as he receives them.
“We are offering all the resources of the Commonwealth while responding to the small private plane crash in the northeast of Philadelphia,” he said.
The video of the domestic camera of the clash showed an object in the air that descended at an angle in the distance. Then you see a fireball behind some roof lines.
Reverend Todd Sheridan Yeary, a former FAA air traffic controller, said with take -off authorization and an aircraft that has a reputation for aircraft, something probably happened in the moments after their wheels left the ground.
“Something happened quite catastrophic after the plane took off,” said News now. “We don’t know exactly what it is.”
He said the plane model is “high performance.”
“It’s very reliable,” said Yeary. “It is very unusual to see what we have just witnessed.”
The air temperature around the moment of the accident was 49 degrees, with light rain, some fog and a guest to the 30 mph wind recorded just before 6 pm, according to data from the National Meteorological Service for Philadelphia.
The accident occurs only a few days after the most fatal aviation incident in the United States in years.
On Wednesday, 67 people were killed when a passenger plane crashed in the air with a Black Hawk military helicopter on the Potomac River near Washington, DC
