Philadelphia plane crash: 7 confirmed dead; witnesses describe explosion; NTSB looking for cockpit voice recorder

That orange flash that electrified the sky over Northeast Philadelphia. The house-shaking explosion that followed. The dwellings that caught fire, and the cars that burst into flames. The power failures.

Understandably, on a foggy, rainy evening when “nothing seemed real,” some residents of one of the city’s densest neighborhoods wondered if they were under attack or were witnessing a conflagration.

An aerial view of the area near the site of the plane crash in Northeast Philadelphia that killed seven people Friday shows a gaping crater close to the entrance of Roosevelt Mall on Cottman Avenue as response personnel, some in blue work suits, attend to the damage.

The medical transport plane took off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport and crashed on Cottman Avenue near Roosevelt Boulevard, killing six Mexican nationals on board and one person who was in a car. A girl who had received crucial treatment at Shriners Children’s Philadelphia — and left a profound impact on fellow patients and staff there — was on board the plane with her mother, traveling back to her home country.

Feeling numb, Nicole Geraldo stared at the burned cars on Cottman Avenue with her hands in her pockets.

She was in her room last night, when she heard a loud boom. Orange and black smoke was all she could see from her window. Before she could assess the magnitude of the disaster, police prevented her from leaving her sidewalk, as two fire trucks took over the street.

Carrying 10 shopping bags, Moura Joselyn and his family of seven left their home on Rupert Street for a temporary residence.

The Joselyns were at home when an explosive sound and shaking ground startled them.

National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy praised the city's community and the "unity" she observed firsthand Saturday while her agency investigated the Northeast Philly crash..

At a briefing at the Northeast Regional Library on Cottman Avenue on Saturday evening, she said the investigation still relies on neighborhood support.

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has been in communication with Gov. Josh Shapiro, offering partnership and “whatever resources he needs” from the Department of Transportation, the secretary said in a video posted to X Saturday.

Friday’s plane crash in Northeast Philadelphia is the second aviation disaster Duffy has had to manage since he was sworn in Tuesday. A plane and a Blackhawk Hhelicopter collided and crashed into the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., Wednesday.

New Jersey residents Lorraine Hatcher and Louise Latorres couldn’t bear another second of staring at the crash site on TV without doing something.

Pulling a red wagon packed with almost a hundred doughnuts, the friends walked around the crash’s security perimeter offering them to first responders.

Located a few blocks away from the site of Friday evening’s plane crash in Northeast Philadelphia, Jordan Brogan anticipates her mental-health providers will be serving individuals who were impacted by or witnessed the tragedy.

“I think in the coming days, we’re going to see the maybe traumatic symptoms that people might be experiencing who witnessed some of that stuff,” said Brogan, the CEO of the Center for Families and Relationships.

The Philadelphia Police Department is asking locals to send in their videos from Friday night's plane crash.

"As you know, the PPD, along with our local, state, and federal partners are working tirelessly to gather all evidence pertaining to the plane crash," officials said in a statement Saturday afternoon. "We are kindly asking that any social media posts or videos that you have obtained of this crash be forwarded."

In the wake of the plane crash that has rattled the Northeast Philadelphia community, the City of Philadelphia says resources and services are available for those who are impacted:

Shelter

The sky turning orange, a loud explosion, and the wreckage are all still vivid memories in Michelle Peralta’s head.

A phone call prompted Peralta to leave the window register at Los Primos Meat Market and take the call outside. Suddenly an explosion eclipsed her conversation and the Vincent Street sky changed hues.

A Mexican emergency service has identified one of its doctors as having been on board the medical jet that crashed Friday in Philadelphia.

“Dr. Raúl Meza was part of crew in the air ambulance XA-UCI belonging to another company where [he] also provides his professional services,” XE Médica Ambulancias wrote on X, identifying Meza as their chief of neonatology.

SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said buses are being detoured around Cottman and Bustleton Avenues due to street closures from the plane crash.

He said that as of Saturday afternoon, seven routes were being detoured, and he expected that to continue through the day.

Hours after Elizabeth Griffin witnessed the fatal plane crash in Northeast Philadelphia, a chemical smell still clung to her hair.

She took another shower, trying to wash away the stench that had rained down on her, along with ash and smoke, in the parking lot of the T-Mobile store on Friday night.

For Carlos Obrador, Mexican consul in Philadelphia, sadness is the only way to describe what he has felt in the wake of the accident.

The consulate emergency line has not stopped receiving calls from concerned family members in Mexico looking for answers, he said.

Many residents living around the Roosevelt Mall were about to sit down for dinner when they saw an orange hue seep from their windows into their living rooms, bedrooms, and kitchens.

“My living room lit up, it was like a big orange ball and then a boom,” said Robert Fosbennet, 62.

As of Saturday morning, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said at least 19 people had suffered injuries from Friday night's plane crash.

"But this is not etched in stone," she said, emphasizing that the situation was fluid and numbers would change.

In the roughly four months that the patient was receiving life-saving treatment at Shriners Children's Philadelphia, she made quite an impression on the hospital’s staff and her fellow patients that she had grown close with.

“The relationships that were formed were true and were dear, and you know she is greatly missed this morning because of that impact,” said Mel Bower, chief marketing and communications officer for Shriners.

Rachel Handis heard the boom, then her Northeast Philadelphia rowhouse shook as if an earthquake was happening.

For some reason, “I thought it was gunshots,” said the 34-year-old. “I was so scared.”

Carlos G. Obrador, head consul of Mexico in Philadelphia, joined city officials and first responders for Saturday's briefing.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of everybody affected," he said.

Debris may have fallen from the medical transport jet that crashed in Northeast Philly on Friday evening before it made impact, city officials said Saturday.

“The area of impact — that area is roughly four to six blocks, and we also have debris in remote areas where something happened with the aircraft,” Philadelphia Managing Director Adam Thiel said at a Saturday morning news conference.

Fire officials said there were five large fires Friday night caused by the plane crash.

All of them have been extinguished, but officials say the work continues.

Gov. Josh Shapiro addressed the crowd Saturday morning and praised the Northeast Philly community, calling it "the best of the best."

"This is not just emergency responders, this is neighbors working together," Shapiro said. He praised the local, state, and federal efforts to support the community. "This is the One Philly way."

During her Saturday press briefing, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said city, state, and federal partners were working "around the clock" to navigate the aftermath of Friday night's crash.

She said that people in the immediate area are encouraged to stay home, but that police officers are in place if people need to move.

Huddled by police officers and Gov. Josh Shapiro, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker addressed media Saturday morning.

She said the plane crash was an ongoing situation and active investigation with federal and local authorities working through the night.

A piece of cardboard held by 12 thin strips of tape to the window of Four Seasons Diner is the only reminder of what happened Friday night at the restaurant.

Manager Ayhan Tiryaki hadn’t processed the boom-like sound in his ears, when a metal piece came flying through one of the diner’s windows after a medical jet crashed nearby.

Kristen Moore, a spokesperson for the Roosevelt Mall, which is owned by Brixmor Property Group, said the mall remains closed at the request of authorities.

Moore said the mall hasn’t been able to fully assess the property, “but it did not seem like there was significant damage.”

The city has confirmed six people on a medical transportation jet — four crew members and a mother and her daughter — were killed when the plane crashed in Northeast Philadelphia Friday night.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in an earlier statement all six were Mexican nationals.

Pedro Evangelista couldn’t make sense of what he was seeing through his car’s front windshield.

An object was hurtling through the sky, turning it a horrifying red color. Then, he heard a loud boom .

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed six of the country's nationals had died in a medical transportation jet crash that occurred in Northeast Philadelphia Friday.

In a post on X, Sheinbaum said the Mexican consulate was in contact with families of the deceased.

The magnitude of devastation was still not entirely clear the morning after a medical transportation jet crashed near Roosevelt Mall in Northeast Philadelphia Friday night.

Three families — four people and one dog — spent the night in a makeshift shelter set up at Samuel Fels High School, according to the Red Cross of Southern Pennsylvania.

Air traffic controllers at Northeast Philadelphia Airport lost contact with a medical jet shortly after takeoff Friday evening, just before it crashed near Roosevelt Mall

In an audio recording at the time of the incident, an unidentified air traffic controller can be heard repeatedly trying to contact the Learjet 55 after it departed the airport.

A medical jet with six people on board — including a pediatric patient — crashed Friday evening near the Roosevelt Mall in Northeast Philadelphia, erupting into a massive fireball, scattering debris throughout the streets, and setting multiple homes and cars ablaze.

In a briefing Friday night, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said there was no official number yet for how many people may have been killed or injured from the crash, but asked for the city’s prayers, and called the situation “all hands on deck.”

Six patients were being treated at Temple University Hospital’s Jeanes Campus in the Northeast, according to a spokesperson. Three of the patients were treated and released, and another three remained hospitalized in fair condition, the spokesperson said.

The explosion rocked the surrounding neighborhood, and firefighters battled blazes in six homes on the 7200 block of Calvert Street as a result of the plane crash, according to Mike Bresnan, head of the union that represents firefighters and paramedics.

Road closures near the site of a deadly airplane crash in Northeast Philadelphia could last a while, Philadelphia officials announced late Friday night.

"Closures may be lengthy," the city's Office of Emergency Management wrote in a statement on social media. "Expect delays of surrounding roads and avoid area."

Before Friday's crash, the most recent fatal incident linked to Northeast Philadelphia Airport occurred in 2019, NTSB records show. In that incident, a single-engine Beech F33 lost control after takeoff and crashed in Hatboro killing all three occupants, a pediatric neurologist who worked at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children and a professor at Drexel University College of Medicine, along with their teenage daughter.

The most recent nonfatal accident was in April 2024 when a single-engine plane lost control during landing, causing extensive damage to the plane but no injuries.