The city of Philadelphia On Friday night, an air ambulance transporting six passengers crashed close to a mall in northeast Philadelphia, killing seven people, including a person in a car.
Capt. Alan Alejandro Montoya Perales, co-pilot Josue de Jesus Juarez Juarez, paramedic Rodrigo Lopez Padilla, Dr. Raul Meza Arredondo, patient Valentina Guzman Murillo, and her mother, Lizeth Murillo Ozuna, were the six individuals on board.
No one on board is believed to have survived, according to Jet Rescue Air Ambulance.
At a news briefing on Monday, Mayor Cherelle Parker stated that there were now 24 injured people on the ground, where multiple homes and cars were impacted.
According to Parker, two of them are in severe condition and four are still in the hospital. No more details regarding their injuries were disclosed.
“We have not, out of respect for their families and their loved ones, shared the names of any of those who have been impacted,” Parker stated on Sunday.
On Monday, Governor Josh Shapiro paused to praise the community’s solidarity following the disaster. He related how a man in a green sweatshirt rushed to the scene of the accident in an attempt to aid the injured.
“I am grateful to our first responders and law enforcement for doing their part to save lives,” stated Shapiro. “I’m grateful to our neighbors here in Northeast Philly for doing their part to save lives, and I’m especially grateful to Mayor Parker for her extraordinary leadership here in the city of Philadelphia.”
Around 6:30 p.m., the air ambulance crashed close to Roosevelt Mall while it was in route from Northeast Philadelphia Airport to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri.
Learjet’s flight path
At a press conference on Saturday night, Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, stated that the collision is being categorized as an accident.
The Learjet 55 left Florida at 12 p.m. on Saturday night and reached Northeast Philadelphia Airport at 2:15 p.m., according to Ralph Hicks, the NTSB’s senior aviation safety investigator and the investigator leading the probe. According to him, it waited on the ground for several hours until taking off at approximately 6:06 p.m.
The jet rose to roughly 1,500 feet after departure, according to Hicks. It turned slightly to the right, then slightly to the left, and finally it began a “steep descent” to crash.
According to Homendy, the flight’s trajectory does not currently point to anything, and the NTSB will keep analyzing all of the material at its disposal.
According to her, prior to the incident, the flight deck did not interact with the air traffic control tower.
Additionally, the Federal Aviation Administration is looking into the matter.
All of the passengers were Mexican citizens, according to Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry on X. The families of all six have been notified by officials, according to the Mexican Consulate.
In a translated Facebook post, the consulate stated that the required consular support is being given and that it is collaborating with the authorities to provide clarification on the situation.
According to an air ambulance company spokeswoman who talked to NBC Philadelphia, the patient was from Mexico, had traveled to the US for life-saving care, and was on her way back home. According to the spokeswoman, the youngster was supposed to have been carried home by ground ambulance from Tijuana International Airport, which was the final destination.
Cockpit voice recorder found
According to officials, the impact site “is roughly four to six blocks” away, and debris was discovered in isolated locations.
According to Homendy, the NTSB is concentrating on gathering perishable evidence, like as debris from the scene and any further information it may require for its investigation.
The board said in a statement on Sunday that the voice recorder in the aircraft’s cockpit was discovered eight feet below the impact site. It was described as an important piece of evidence that investigators may use to build a timeline and identify potential unknowns in the crash.
Before the gadget was discovered, Homendy stated on Saturday that it was probably damaged. It might be broken up.
The NTSB announced on Sunday that the aircraft’s upgraded ground proximity warning system, which might have contained some flight data, had also been retrieved.
The NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory in Washington, D.C., will receive both parts for analysis. According to NTSB officials, the organization is unmatched in its capacity to retrieve data from such devices, even when they are destroyed in collisions.
According to the board, NTSB investigators have also retrieved both engines and will remain on the scene, where wreckage recovery is anticipated to continue on Monday. According to the statement, the recovered wreckage will be inspected at a secure site in Delaware.
According to Homendy, the NTSB is not aware of any debris or other falling objects from the aircraft prior to its downing. Witness footage are welcome, she said.
According to 29-year-old Odalis Acosta, everything trembled while she was assisting a patron at Four Seasons Diner.
“The glass around them shattered, and people in the restaurant fell to the ground,” she claimed. A customer was struck in the head by a large metal object.
The explosion was audible to you. She told NBC News, “I look to the side and I see the big ball of explosion through the window.”
Fire and thick smoke could be seen rising in the air on camera.
The jet crashed a few days after a Black Hawk chopper and an American Airlines passenger plane collided in midair near Washington, D.C., killing 67 people.
Sean Duffy, the secretary of transportation, pointed out that the voice recorder might reveal details about the events leading up to the collision.
At a press conference on Monday, Duffy stated, “We have committed to being as transparent as possible with information as it comes out, and we hope to get their preliminary report within 30 days.”
Along with the NTSB and FAA investigators, Duffy praised the efforts of first responders and Philadelphia officials. He committed to continuing to engage with the state and municipalities even when the “news cycle moves.”
According to Duffy, “We will not forget,” We’re going to work together with your community and this amazing team that you have all put together. I had the opportunity to meet them, and they are truly amazing Americans, and I had a great time.
Minyvonne Burke reported from Pittsburgh, while Maya Eaglin reported from Philadelphia.