'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wAARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYH/8QAIBAAAgEDBAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQMCAAURBBITUSFhcf/EABUBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAC/8QAFxEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQARMf/aAAwDAQACEQMRAD8AzK2ptbNBbIm3TXzQaeWLcyZiYjkgjwB17qedqrSHMEUajbuOMkd/KUq+KRDW/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
A Jet Rescue Air Ambulance carrying six people went down near a mall in Northeast Philadelphia on Friday evening.
Shai Gold, a spokesperson for the company, said it's unlikely anyone on board survived - including four crew members, a pediatric patient, and the patient's escort. They confirmed in an official statement:
"Our immediate concern is for the patient's family, our personnel, their families and other victims that may have been hurt on the ground."
The pediatric patient among those on board was a child from Mexico who had come to the country for life-saving treatment and was heading back home.
What happened in Northeast Philadelphia?
Jet Rescue Air Ambulance's Learjet 55 aircraft departed from Northeast Philadelphia Airport en route to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri, according to an FAA statement. The plane, however, crashed a mere 3 miles from the airport.
Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on X (formerly Twitter) that all six on board the Learjet were Mexican nationals.
A spokesperson for Shriners Children's Philadelphia Hospital, where the young patient was being treated, said in a statement to NBC Philadelphia that the child had been treated at the institution and was traveling with her mother.
"Shriners Children’s is heartbroken to confirm that one of our pediatric patients and the child’s mother were aboard the Jet Rescue Air Ambulance that crashed in Philadelphia this evening."
The story still develops
While Philadelphia mayor Cherelle Parker declared the "exact casualties to be unknown," the company operating the air ambulance service confirmed the deaths of the pilot, a copilot, a physician, and a paramedic, along with the young patient and her mother. The FAA announced that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will oversee the investigation of the crash and provide all subsequent updates.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce that he's in touch with city officials:
Rev. Todd Sheridan Yeary, a former FAA air traffic controller, suggested that with the aircraft cleared for takeoff and known for its reliability, a critical issue likely arose shortly after it was airborne.
Trending
The Northeast Philadelphia crash comes at the heels of one of the deadliest aviation mishaps on American soil when a Black Hawk military chopper collided with an American Airlines plane.
Your perspective matters!
Start the conversation
