A medical plane carrying a young patient and her mother has crashed in a heavily populated area of Philadelphia – killing all six people on board.
The Jet Rescue Air Ambulance was carrying the girl and her mother from Northeast Philadelphia Airport to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri – on their way home to Tijuana, Mexico, the company said.
It crashed about 30 seconds after taking off, erupting in a fireball and engulfing several homes in flames.
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The plane came down near a shopping centre in Pennsylvania at 6.30pm local time on Friday (11.30pm UK time). Four members of crew were also on board, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed.
Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, which is based in Mexico, said: “At this time we cannot confirm any survivors.”
Shai Gold, who works in corporate strategy for the company, said it was “terribly shocked by this tragic turn of events”.
“This was a very seasoned crew,” she said. “We are a leading air ambulance company, we fly 600 to 700 times a year. We don’t really know what happened.”
Large fire trucks and other emergency vehicles were sent to the scene, with the fire appearing to have been put out around two hours after the crash.
There were reports of people injured on the ground – but no details were confirmed.
Philadelphia Governor Josh Shapiro said: “We want to offer our thoughts and serious prayers for those that are grieving at this moment.”
President Donald Trump wrote on social media that he was “so sad” to see the crash.
“More innocent souls are lost. Our people are totally engaged. First responders are already being given credit for doing a great job.”
The crash comes days after a plane collided with a US Army helicopter as it came into land at an airport in Washington DC – killing all 64 people on board the plane – and three on the helicopter.
