There is very sketchy information, because it just happened, but there are already multiple known casualties. The first story I heard said it was near a shopping mall, and maybe it was but some houses are on fire.
I lived in Northeast Philly for over twenty years.
I have been watching the story live on the channel 10 news.
It is near a mall- Roosevelt mall. I have heard both Cottman and Busteton and Cottman and Roosevelt. Those intersections are only a few blocks from each other.
Both Bustleton Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard are main roads with high traffic, especially during rush hour. I find it extremely likely that besides the people on the plane, severak car loads of people were killed in the crash.
That plane headed straight for the ground. You can see its descent on the left-hand side, behind the apartment building. It actually looks like a meteor!
Watching NewsNation and they’re reporting six dead, two on the plane; houses burning.
I won’t be surprised if the death toll rises.
ETA: A midsize, not a small plane, says a commenter on CNN; a business jet. Loaded with fuel since it was just taking off.
NewsNation commenter says rapid descent indicates some catastrophic mechanical failure.
CNN: Landed on Cotman Avenue in the street amid traffic. Two of the dead on the ground were in a house.
ETA: Watching one video, it appears there was a sudden burst of light just at the start of the plummet.
I stopped wacthing the local news at 8. They had pretty much stopped giving any new information by then. As I was already doin terribly before this, I switched to Penn & Teller Fool Us.
I am sure the plane crash will still be the lead story on all local news tomorrow.
Learjet 55 as an air ambulance enroute to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri after taking off from KPNE 2-3 miles away.
It pretty much lawn darted at a very steep angle to impact.
Just heard on CNN that the FAA has stated there were six aboard the plane. So the two pilots and the others presumably were patient, medical personnel, maybe patient’s family member(s).
Saw a person being wheeled on a stretcher toward an ambulance. No confirmed word yet on casualties on the ground.
Expert on CNN notes this particular aircraft can have weight and balance issues, can be “tricky” to load and consume fuel correctly.
Oh God – operator Jet Rescue released statement there was a “pediatric” patient on board plus “escort” and four crew members.
This is the clearest video I’ve seen so far.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/s/MqjhfMbuy8
Sorry, this post has been removed by the moderators of r/Damnthatsinteresting.
It was the same footage that Spiderman provided a few posts back. (Their link goes to X.)
Shai Gold, a spokesperson for Jet Rescue, said that the patient being transported was a Mexican national, a child who came to Philadelphia for medical care. She had been discharged after completing her course of care, Gold said, and was being escorted back to Mexico by her mother.
The aircraft was registered in Mexico, Gold said, and crewed by a pilot, copilot, flight physician, and paramedic.That’s the standard medical team on board Jet Rescue flights, Gold said.
I first saw it on phillyfirenews ( Phillyfirenews ). There are videos there. Just a horrific tragedy. Happened around 6pm at the end of rush hour.
I wonder how many people saw that, and thought it was a nuclear explosion.
I’m also guessing that the Springfield stop was for refueling before going on to Mexico.
The patient on the medical flight was from Shriners hospital in phila. The child was heading home. Just horrible.
Former Northeast Philly boy here.
Often shopped at the mall near the crash site.
Just horrible.
Now reporting one dead on the ground, in addition to the six in the plane.
I don’t think the impact point will buff out
Saw a news program this evening quoting an official saying the ground injured are in the teens and it’s possible they will find more dead.
Looking at the images of the havoc in the street, I’m amazed there weren’t more casualties.
Last night on another board, someone who said they were a lifelong Philadelphia resident and was familiar with the neighborhood expressed surprise that there weren’t numerous fatalities. I replied that, as of when (most likely) she wrote that, they probably hadn’t been able to determine that just yet.
I suspect the thing that could be holding down the number (so far) of fatalities is that the plane plummeted into almost the middle of the street rather than into a row of houses. Yes, several homes caught fire, but hopefully any residents had time to get out.
Unless some of the injured are near death it’s very unlikely at this point that the death toll will go up. Due to the nature of the crash the area of damage isn’t very large so I’m sure the finished long ago.
After looking at the video it’s hard to imagine it’s anything other than mechanical. It’s very likely they will have a hard time getting anything useful out of the flight data recorder.