Air ambulance crash kills 7 in Philadelphia, including child being flown home to Mexico

At least seven people were killed and 19 were injured when an air ambulance crashed into a busy Philadelphia intersection, officials said Saturday. The dead from Friday's accident include a child who was receiving treatment at a Philadelphia hospital and her mother.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed that all six of those on board the jet — including a child who had received medical treatment at a Philadelphia hospital — were killed. All the victims on the jet were from Mexico.

In addition, one person on the ground who was in a car was killed and 19 others were injured in the crash, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said.

The crash scene was a very large area with a lot of damage and authorities were working to assess the damage, said Adam Thiel, the city's managing director.

Teams were going house to house inspecting the dwellings in the area to search for damage. It is "entirely possible" that there will be changes to the casualty figures being reported thus far, Thiel said.

There are "a lot of unknowns" as to who was where on the streets of the neighbourhood when the plane crashed, Thiel said. It could be days or more until authorities are able to definitely answer the question of how many people died or were injured, he said.

On Saturday, in a statement on the social media platform X, Sheinbaum confirmed the deaths and expressed condolences.

"I mourn the passing of six Mexicans in the aviation accident in Philadelphia, United States. Consular authorities are in constant contact with the families; I've asked the Foreign Affairs Secretary to support whatever is needed. My solidarity with their loved ones and friends," she said in a statement written in Spanish.

The aircraft was transporting a child who had just completed treatment for a life-threatening condition at Shriners Children's Hospital, her mother and four crew members. It crashed into a Philadelphia neighbourhood shortly after takeoff Friday evening, exploding in a fireball that engulfed several homes.

"The patient had received care from Shriners Children's Philadelphia and was being transported back to her home country in Mexico on a contracted air ambulance when the crash happened," Shriners spokesperson Mel Bower said in a statement. "Because of patient privacy concerns, we cannot say any more about the patient and her family at this time."

Jet Rescue Air Ambulance operated the Learjet 55 and said everyone aboard the flight was from Mexico. The child was being transported home, according to Jet Rescue spokesperson Shai Gold. The flight's final destination was Tijuana after a stop in Missouri.

Gold said this was a seasoned crew and everyone involved in these flights goes through rigorous training.

"When an incident like this happens, it's 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 critical."

A spokesperson for Temple University Hospital-Jeanes, Jennifer Reardon, said they had treated six people with injuries from the crash. Three of those people had since been released and the others were in fair condition. She wasn't able to provide information about their injuries or where the people were when they sustained them.

The plane was registered in Mexico. Jet Rescue is based in Mexico and has operations both there and in the U.S.

The crash came just two days after the deadliest U.S. air disaster in a generation. On Wednesday night, an American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided in mid-air in Washington, D.C., with an army helicopter carrying three soldiers. There were no survivors.

The Philadelphia crash was the second fatal incident in 15 months for Jet Rescue. In 2023 five crew members were killed when their plane overran a runway in the central Mexican state of Morelos and crashed into a hillside.

'All we heard was a loud roar'

In Philadelphia, a doorbell camera captured video of the plane plunging in a streak of white and exploding as it hit the ground near a shopping mall and major roadway.

"All we heard was a loud roar and didn't know where it was coming from. We just turned around and saw the big plume," said Jim Quinn, the owner of the doorbell camera.

The crash happened less than five kilometres from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, which primarily serves business jets and charter flights.

The Learjet 55 quickly disappeared from radar after taking off from the airport at 6:06 p.m. and climbing to an altitude of 487 metres. It was registered to a company operating as Med Jets, according to the flight tracking website Flight Aware.

Shortly after 6 p.m., audio recorded by LiveATC captured an air traffic controller telling "Medevac Medservice 056" to turn right when departing. About 30 seconds later it repeats the request before asking, "You on frequency?" Minutes later, the controller says, "We have a lost aircraft. We're not exactly sure what happened, so we're trying to figure it out. For now the field is going to be closed."

In a post on the social media platform Truth Social, U.S. President Donald Trump said: "So sad to see the plane go down in Philadelphia."

"More innocent souls lost," he added. "Our people are totally engaged."

The plane crashed in a busy intersection near Roosevelt Mall, an outdoor shopping centre in the densely populated neighbourhood of Rhawnhurst.

One 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 rose into the sky and sirens blared.

Michael Schiavone, 37, was sitting at his home in Mayfair, a nearby neighbourhood, 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, it looked like a missile came down.

"There was a large explosion, so I thought we were under attack for a second," he said.

Jet Rescue, which provides global air ambulance services, 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 COVID-19.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation. The NTSB said an investigator arrived Friday and more officials would be there Saturday.