A small medical plane crashed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA on Saturday morning. According to media reports, all six people on board the plane, which was flying from Philadelphia to Missouri, are feared dead. This includes two doctors, two pilots, a patient and a family member.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Learjet 55 took off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport at 6:30 pm (local time). It crashed just 30 seconds later, 6.4 kilometers (4 miles) away.
AFP quoted local media as saying that the plane had crashed into houses in a residential area, causing several buildings in the area to catch fire. At the same time, Reuters reported that the plane was carrying two people and crashed near a shopping mall.
The plane crashed just 30 seconds after takeoff.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Learjet 55 took off from the Northeast Philadelphia airport at 6:30 p.m. local time and crashed 30 seconds later, just 6.4 kilometers (4 miles) away. The airport is used primarily for commercial jets and charter flights.
The accident took place near the three-story Roosevelt Mall shopping center in a densely populated area of the Pennsylvania city. The area where the plane crashed is surrounded by many houses and shops. In the video of the incident shared on social media, it can be seen that the plane came down very quickly and a large explosion occurred after the collision.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the accident.
40 bodies were recovered from the plane crash on Wednesday
The bodies of those killed in the plane crash in Washington, DC, have now been recovered. The American Airlines plane was found in three pieces in the Potomac River after the crash. The flight data recorders (FDRs or black boxes) of both the plane and the helicopter have been recovered.
The incident took place near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The accident involved a CRJ700 Bombardier jet operated by US Airways and an Army Black Hawk (H-60) helicopter. The American Airlines jet was flying from Kansas to Washington.
A woman of Indian origin also became a victim of an accident
Among those killed was Asra Hussain Raza (26), an Indian-origin woman. Asra married her college sweetheart, Hamaz Raza, in 2023. According to her father-in-law, Raza was a consultant in Washington who traveled to Wichita twice a month to work on turnaround projects at the hospital.
After the plane crash, Asra Raza’s husband Hamad Raza told what the last conversation with his wife was. His wife had messaged him that I will land in just 20 minutes. After receiving his wife’s message, Hamad Raza came to pick her up at the airport.
Trump blames Obama and Biden’s policies for the accident
Donald Trump blamed the accident on the DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) policies implemented during the Obama and Biden administrations. According to Trump, these policies compromised air safety standards, which led to the accident.
During a White House press briefing, Trump claimed that the Federal Aviation Administration was not prioritizing safety because of the DEI program.
Trump has accused former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg of hiring people with disabilities and mental health issues for air traffic controller positions. Trump has already halted DEI programs in the US.
Early Thursday, Trump expressed grief over the accident and wrote on social media,
The plane was heading exactly in the right direction for the airport. The helicopter had been coming straight towards the plane for a long time. The night was clear, the plane’s lights were on, yet the helicopter didn’t go up or down or turn.
Trump further wrote that why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do, instead of asking if they saw the plane? He said,
This is a bad situation that should have been prevented. It is not good.
Vice President JD Vance expressed his grief over the accident. He appealed for prayers for those involved in the accident.