A tragic jet crash in Philadelphia has left seven people dead and several others injured. Mayor Cherelle Parker confirmed that three people on the ground remain in critical condition. A total of 22 individuals were injured, with five still hospitalized. The crash significantly damaged at least 11 homes and several businesses in the Castor Gardens neighborhood.
The accident occurred Friday evening when a Mexico-bound air ambulance, a Learjet 55, crashed less than a minute after takeoff from Northeast Philadelphia Airport. The plane, carrying six people, including a child who had been receiving medical treatment, was en route to Tijuana with a scheduled stop in Missouri. The crash also claimed the life of a person in a car as debris exploded across the area.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have recovered the jet’s cockpit voice recorder from the impact site, approximately eight feet underground. The aircraft’s ground proximity warning system, which may contain additional flight data, was also found. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy described the incident as a “high-impact crash,” leaving the aircraft highly fragmented. The wreckage collection process is expected to take weeks.
This disaster follows another deadly aviation accident two days earlier in Washington, D.C., where an American Airlines jet collided midair with an Army helicopter, killing all aboard.
Authorities continue investigating the Philadelphia crash, gathering information from local residents. A busy roadway near the crash site, Roosevelt Boulevard, remained closed over the weekend but was expected to reopen by Monday morning.
The victims included the child who had completed treatment at Shriners Children’s Philadelphia hospital, her mother, and four crew members. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed that all six plane passengers were from Mexico. Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, the plane’s operator, has not disclosed identities, but XE Médica Ambulancias identified Dr. Raúl Meza as one of the deceased.
In Mexico, the Ensenada municipal government identified two victims as Valentina Guzmán Murillo and her mother, Lizeth Murillo Osuna. Jet Rescue Air Ambulance previously suffered another fatal crash in 2023 in Morelos, Mexico.
Audio recordings from LiveATC captured an air traffic controller attempting to communicate with the jet moments before it was lost from radar.
