By MICHAEL SISAK and MATT ROURKE, Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A tragic incident unfolded in Philadelphia on Friday as a medical transport jet crashed just 30 seconds after takeoff, causing destruction and panic in a residential area. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that two individuals were on board at the time of the crash.
A doorbell camera captured the heart-wrenching moment when the plane plummeted from the sky, igniting into a fireball upon impact in a neighborhood near a shopping center and major roadway.
Jim Quinn, a witness to the crash, described hearing a deafening roar before witnessing the devastating scene unfold. “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,” Quinn recounted.
The crash site was located less than 3 miles from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, which mainly caters to business jets and charter flights.
The aircraft, identified as a Learjet 55, disappeared from radar shortly after departing from the airport at 6:06 p.m. and ascending to 1,600 feet. Its intended destination was Springfield, Missouri, and it was registered under a company known as Med Jets, as per Flight Aware.
This tragic incident follows closely after the nation’s deadliest aviation disaster in nearly 25 years. A collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter in Washington, D.C., resulted in no survivors just two days prior.
Governor Josh Shapiro has pledged state resources to aid in the response to the private plane crash in Northeast Philly.
The National Transportation Safety Board will spearhead the investigation into the crash, as confirmed by the FAA. The NTSB is currently in the process of gathering pertinent information.
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