Pilot error led to Northeast Philadelphia Plane Crash, Killing Six-Young Girl Heading Home After Lifesaving Care

A devastating plane crash hit northeast Philadelphia on Friday night and took the lives of six people, including that of a young pediatric patient on her way back home to Mexico after receiving her lifesaving medical treatment in the United States.

The Learjet 55 air ambulance was operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance en route to Tijuana, Mexico, with a brief stopover at Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri. A few minutes into the flight, however, it nosedived into a highly populated neighborhood right after taking off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, sending a fireball that razed the entire place.

The crash, which took place near Cottman Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard, sent a massive blaze encompassing nearby buildings and vehicles. Emergency responders quickly arrived on the scene, but the destruction was overwhelming.

Shai Gold, a Jet Rescue Air Ambulance spokesperson, said that the tragic loss of the young patient was that of a fighter who had gone through so much medical treatment. "She fought so hard to survive and was finally on her way home," Gold said. "It's devastating that this tragedy occurred just as she was returning to her family."

The Learjet 55 is a common choice for air medical transports, but it was mostly prepared with professionals committed to bringing the young girl safely home.  On the flight would have been her mother and the flight crew consisting of a pilot, co-pilot, doctor, and paramedic. Each one was an important asset to completing the mission, and together they had flown many times without incident.

This incident is that grim reminder that air medical transportation carries risks to the patients needing these flights as a lifeline to and from life-saving treatment.