Residents and businesses in Northeast Philadelphia are still experiencing the sorrow and disruption Monday from Friday night’s fatal crash of a medical transport jet next to the Roosevelt Mall.
Mohammed Bouaischa, who lives one block away from the crash site on St. Vincent Street, said he was home with his family when he heard a roar Friday, and then saw flames of the wreckage.
“ I heard it like it was like a big bomb,” he said. “I never thought it was like an airplane kind of crash or something like that, you know?”
Michael Knorr said he was eating dinner at Rib Shack on Tyson and Bustleton avenues, a couple blocks from Cottman Avenue, when the crash happened. He said he initially noticed the ground shake and was told by waitresses it was a plane crash. When he left the restaurant, he saw ambulances rushing towards the crash and the crowds forming at the scene. He described the experience as traumatic.
“I had such an eerie feeling all weekend since it happened,” he said.
The crash killed seven people — six on the plane and one the ground — and injured 24, officials said Monday.
The Learjet 55 medical transport plane was operated by Jet Air Rescue and was travelling from Philadelphia to Tijuana, Mexico, with a planned stop at Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri. It crashed less than a minute after takeoff.
“This remains an ongoing investigation,” Mayor Cherelle Parker said during Monday’s press briefing. “It is fluid, and it is active.”
Parker’s spokesperson Joe Grace said 343 residential properties were impacted by the plane crash, in addition to commercial properties and others. Four residential properties were destroyed and six had major damage.
Roosevelt Boulevard was fully reopened Monday after initially being closed, but Police and city vehicles were still cordoning off the block of Cottman Avenue for investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to examine the scene and workers to clean up numerous burned-out cars and debris. Police checked IDs for anyone who needed to enter the surrounding residences between St. Vincent Street and Cottman Avenue.
Many businesses and parking lots, and even nearby mosques, have been closed in the days since the crash, to manage access to the scene. Bouaischa said his wife opted to walk the children to their school Monday morning, instead of driving as she usually does.
“It’s not far away from here, it’s like two blocks from here. But it’s still early in the morning, 7 o’clock, and it’s cold. I mean, it’s not easy,” he said. “But it’s OK, you have to handle the situation. What are you going to do?”
R&R Produce on the corner of Cottman and Bustleton, remained open Monday, though the entrance from its east-side parking lot was damaged, as the blast shifted its sliding doors off their tracks. Cashier Roxolana Pearlstein said that regular customers expressed were relieved there was no serious damage.
”They’re glad we’re here,” she said. “I’ve had people that haven’t been here in a few years call just to see if we’re OK — which was nice to know.”
Pearlstein said she was on her way to her apartment near Northeast Philadelphia Airport, where the jet took off from, when the crash happened. She said living near the airport’s flight path is more nerve-wracking now.
“We hope to god this was just some fluke, because it makes you wonder about the checks and balances of how safe flying is going forward,” she said.
Near the front of the store, a makeshift memorial had been set up between the yellow police tape and the press’ media equipment, with flowers, candles, and American and Mexican flags. The store announced a vigil for Wednesday at 6 p.m.
The Red Cross and the city’s Office of Emergency Management are operating a shelter for people displaced by the crash at Samuel Fels High School, 5500 Langdon St. Those needing assistance can call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) for more information.
Businesses that have property damage or difficulty operating because of the road closures can contact the city’s Commerce Department at 215-683-2100 or business@phila.gov.
The city has also scheduled a town hall on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Solomon Solis-Cohen Elementary School on 7001 Horrocks St.
