A small medical plane carrying six people crashed near a shopping center in Northeast Philadelphia on Friday night, killing all on board and sending a large fireball into the air that engulfed homes and vehicles in flames, the authorities said.
The Learjet 55 was transporting a young female patient from Philadelphia, where she had completed treatment, to her home in Mexico, said Shai Gold, a spokesman for Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, which owns the plane.
She was accompanied by her mother, and there were also two pilots, a doctor and a paramedic on board, he said.
The patient had been treated at Shriners Children’s in Philadelphia, said the hospital’s spokesman, Mel Bower.
All six people on the plane were Mexican, Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said. The plane had only been in the air for a minute before it crashed just after 6 p.m., according to Philadelphia officials who cited the Federal Aviation Administration.
The burning debris from the plane left an apartment building and several vehicles in flames. Several blocks within a roughly half-mile radius were cordoned off. Residents described seeing thick smoke rising from the crash site and smelling fuel.
Many people on the ground were also injured, including those in parking lots, on streets and in cars and homes, the city said in a statement.
Several people injured in connection with the crash were taken to Temple Health, said Jennifer Reardon, a spokeswoman for the hospital. Three were discharged after treatment, and three others remained hospitalized, she said.
The plane had a planned stop in Missouri for fuel before its final destination, Tijuana International Airport, Mr. Gold said. He added that he would not release any names until family members were notified.
The plane took off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport and was en route to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri when it crashed, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
It crashed about 6 p.m. near Cottman and Bustleton Avenues, across from the Roosevelt Mall, the local authorities said.
“Several dwellings and vehicles were impacted,” Mayor Cherelle Parker of Philadelphia said at a news conference. She told residents not to touch anything that looked like debris and to stay inside if possible.
It is unclear why the plane crashed.
The jet plummeted to the ground within a minute of takeoff, less than three miles from the end of the runway, according to Flightradar24, an aviation tracking website. Data broadcast by the plane indicated that at one point, it was descending at 11,000 feet per minute, according to the website.
An air traffic controller tried several times to communicate with the pilot after the jet took off but got no response, according to an audio transmission.
After a long silence, a controller said: “We have a lost aircraft. We’re not exactly sure what happened, so we’re trying to figure it out.”
Killiom Pontes, 38, a manager of a cellphone store less than a mile from the crash site, said that the impact had caused the windows of the business to shake.
“At first, I thought it was an earthquake, but then we saw the big boom,” he said, adding that he then drove to the scene, which he described as a busy commercial area. “I saw a big hole in the ground,” he continued. “I was in shock how much debris there was.”
Samuel Landis, 22, a cellular electrician, said that he had been assigned to a job site that ended up being destroyed.
“We’re just here to work, but the plane crashed directly where we were supposed to be,” he said.
Kristen Moore, a spokeswoman for the Roosevelt Mall’s owner, Brixmor Property Group, said the plane had crashed in front of the shopping center.
The authorities in Philadelphia said they had closed several nearby roads, warning drivers to expect delays in the area.
Jet Rescue Air Ambulance conducts 600 to 700 flights a year and specializes in critical care patients, Mr. Gold said. In its 27 years of operation, it has had one other fatal episode, when five crew members died in November 2023, he said.
The F.A.A. and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating. Members of both agencies were on their way to the scene on Friday night, officials said.
President Trump said in a post on social media on Friday night that his administration was tracking the developments.
“So sad to see the plane go down in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,” he wrote. “More innocent souls lost.”
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