Plane with at least 2 aboard crashes in Philadelphia, sets homes ablaze

PHILADELPHIA — A medical transport jet crashed in Philadelphia on Friday about 30 seconds after taking off, setting homes ablaze, strewing debris and rattling residents after the second air disaster in as many days. Two people were on board, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

A doorbell camera captured footage of the plane falling from the sky in a streak of white and exploding in a fireball as it hit the ground in a residential neighborhood 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 3 miles from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, which primarily serves business jets and charter flights.

The plane, a Learjet 55, quickly disappeared from radar after taking off from the airport at 6:06 p.m. and climbing to an altitude of 1,600 feet. It was en route to Springfield, Missouri, and registered to a company operating as Med Jets, according to the flight tracking website Flight Aware.

The crash comes two days after the country’s deadliest aviation disaster in almost a quarter century. An American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided in midair Wednesday night in Washington, D.C., with an Army helicopter carrying three soldiers. There were no survivors in that crash.

Gov. Josh Shapiro said he is offering all “Commonwealth resources as they respond to the small private plane crash in Northeast Philly.”

The plane crashed in a busy intersection near Roosevelt Mall, an outdoor shopping center where first responders were blocking traffic and onlookers crowded onto a street corner in the residential neighborhood of Rhawnhurst. Philadelphia’s emergency management office said that roads are closed in the area.

Bystanders watch as first responders work the scene after a small plane crashed in Philadelphia on Friday.

Matt Rourke/AP

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Matt Rourke/AP

One cell phone video taken by a witness moments after the plane crashed showed a chaotic scene with debris scattered across the intersection. A wall of orange glowed just beyond the intersection as a plume of black smoke quickly rose into the sky and sirens blared.

Michael Schiavone, 37, was sitting at his home in Mayfair on Friday 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.

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

The plane’s owner, Jet Rescue, provides global air ambulance services. The company, based in Mexico, 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.

A message seeking comment was left with Jet Rescue’s U.S. headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida.

The FAA said the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation. The NTSB, which investigates air crashes, said it was gathering information about the crash.