In a shocking development, the US has been hit by another aviation disaster as a small jet, believed to be an air ambulance, crashed into a residential area in Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, causing a massive explosion and fireball. The catastrophe unfolded at 6pm local time on Friday, with the terrifying scenes captured on camera by an onlooker.
The footage, which quickly spread across social media platforms, shows the aircraft spiralling from the sky before slamming into houses. The plane, identified as a Jet Rescue Air Ambulance Learjet 55, had two individuals on board who are presumed to be among several fatalities.
On the ground, emergency services are treating casualties amidst burning homes. Eyewitnesses reported a “large debris field,” cars set alight, and a pervasive “smell of fuel in the air,” one witness recounted to LIVENOW.
Another told ABC 6 about the horrific sight, saying, “It was just horrific. I was just driving down the street, coming to Wendy’s and I just saw a plane basically hit the building and it exploded. The sky lit up and I pulled over and basically it was just real bad around here.”
He compared the impact to that of an earthquake, remarking, “Earthquakish. It lit up the whole sky,” reports The Mirror.
The crash site is near Northeast Philadelphia Airport, and images and videos show a significant emergency response, with numerous fire engines racing to the scene.
Social media has been awash with alarm following the report of what is the second fatal air accident to dominate news this week, casting a shadow over the safety protocols of the skies. The latest update from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) comes on the heels of a devastating mid-air catastrophe involving a PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 and a military Sikorsky H-60 helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport last Wednesday.
With all 67 individuals aboard perishing in the crash, the tragic event has been further magnified by the release of names of those victims found in the nearby Potomac River by US media outlets. The ongoing probe took a crucial turn as investigators announced the recovery of black boxes from the river’s depths, now subject to forensic examination in an NTSB laboratory.
Officials from the NTSB reported: “NTSB investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the Bombardier CRJ700 airplane involved in yesterday’s mid-air collision in DCA. The recorders are at the NTSB labs for evaluation.”
