At 6:30 pm EST, January 31st, a Learjet 55 air ambulance took off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport. The plane carried two pilots, a child patient, the child’s mother, and two medical staff. The flight’s final destination was Tijuana, Mexico, with a short stop at Springfield-Branson National Airport, Missouri.

Learjet 55
A Learjet 55 executive aircraft. The crashed plane was a modified air ambulance.

Shortly after takeoff, the Learjet crashed three miles southwest of the airport in the residential neighborhood of Rhawnhurst. The crash site was near Cottman and Bustelton Avenues, close to the Roosevelt Mall. The aircraft was loaded with fuel and exploded into a large fireball. The crash was captured on film by a number of security cameras in the area.

The NTSB will lead the investigation of the crash. At the time of writing, nothing is known about the cause of the crash. All six aboard were killed. It is known that there were casualties on the ground, but there are no specifics. Some grisly footage of the crash site shows what may be people on fire from burning jet fuel.

Video 1 is from a doorbell camera and shows the moment of impact. One can see the aircraft falling through the sky in the upper right, followed by an explosion on the ground.

The following video, Video 2, is an aerial view of the crash site. There appear to be three fires at the location. The area covered is fairly limited, a bit longer than a city block. No “smoking hole in the ground” is immediately visible and could be obscured by flames. The pavement appears undamaged in the space between the fires.

Video 2: Aerial View of Crash Site – Learjet Air Ambulance

aerial view of the plane crash
(Screenshot) Aerial view of the plane crash.

One wonders about the attitude of the aircraft as it impacted the ground. Had it come in flat, the area affected would be larger, and debris and fire would be scattered over the length of the avenue. In fact, the fires are probably located where the wings fell because that is where the fuel tanks are. The other fires may be where the two engines landed.

Video 3 below was shot on the ground, close to the crash site. Warning: Graphic – it appears to show an individual, on fire, on the ground.