Plane with 6 aboard crashes in Philadelphia, setting homes ablaze

A medical transport jet with a child patient her mother and four others aboard crashed into a Philadelphia neighbourhood shortly after takeoff Friday evening exploding in a fireball that engulfed several homesAll six people aboard were from Mexico The child had been treated in Philadelphia for a lifethreatening condition and was being transported home to Mexico according to Shai Gold Jet Rescue Air Ambulance spokesperson The flights final destination was Tijuana after a stop in MissouriThe patient and her mother were on board along with four crew members Gold said this was a seasoned crew and that everyone involved in these flights goes through rigorous trainingWhen an incident like this happens its shocking and surprising Gold told the Associated Press All of the aircraft are maintained not a penny is spared because we know our mission is so criticalPennsylvania Gov Josh Shapiro said at a news conference late Friday that officials expect fatalities in this awful aviation disaster reported Associated PressWe know that there will be loss he saidThe plane was registered in Mexico Jet Rescue is based in Mexico and has operations both there and in the USThe crash came just two days after the deadliest US air disaster in a generation On Wednesday night an American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided in midair in Washington DC with an Army helicopter carrying three soldiers There were no survivors in that crashIn Philadelphia a doorbell camera captured footage of the plane plunging in a streak of white and exploding as it hit the ground near a shopping mall and major roadwayAll we heard was a loud roar and didnt know where it was coming from We just turned around and saw the big plume said Jim Quinn the owner of the doorbell camera reported Associated PressThe crash happened less than 3 miles 48 kilometers from Northeast Philadelphia Airport which primarily serves business jets and charter flightsThe plane a Learjet 55 quickly disappeared from radar after taking off from the airport at 606 pm and climbing to an altitude of 1600 feet 487 meters It was registered to a company operating as Med Jets according to the flight tracking website Flight AwarePresident Donald Trump posted on social media platform Truth Social it was so sad to see the crashMore innocent souls lost he said Our people are totally engagedA continuous stream of police vehicles and fire trucks initially poured at the crash site taking over business parking lots as emergency workers responded Within about an hour the cry of sirens and shouted orders had faded into relative quiet at the edges of the closedoff area and darkness settled in as drivers passing by peered out trying to see what was happening reported Associated PressThe plane crashed in a busy intersection near Roosevelt Mall an outdoor shopping center in the densely populated neighborhood of RhawnhurstOne cellphone video taken by a witness moments after the crash showed a chaotic scene with debris scattered across the intersection A wall of orange glowed just beyond as a plume of black smoke quickly rose into the sky and sirens blaredMichael Schiavone 37 was sitting at his home in Mayfair a nearby neighborhood when he heard a loud bang and his house shook He said it felt like a mini earthquake and when he checked his home security camera footage he said it looked like a missile was coming down reported Associated PressThere was a large explosion so I thought we were under attack for a second he said reported Associated PressThe planes owner Jet Rescue provides global air ambulance services The company flew baseball hall of famer David Ortiz to Boston after he was shot in the Dominican Republic in 2019 and was involved in transporting patients critically ill with COVID19The FAA said the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation The NTSB which investigates air crashes said it was gathering information about the crashWith inputs from Associated Press