U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy spoke at a press conference outside the Roosevelt Mall, near the site of the fatal Learjet crash. He was flanked by Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, left, and Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro. Feb. 3, 2025. (Nick Kariuki/Billy Penn)

As horrific as Friday’s fatal plane crash in Northeast Philadelphia was — killing seven people in total, injuring dozens and displacing hundreds of residents — Mayor Cherelle Parker says she shudders to think what could have happened if the aircraft had hit the ground in a slightly different part of the densely populated neighborhood.

“When you look through the footage and you think about what could have been, had a gas line been hit … I’m staying strong on my faith. I’m grateful to God,” she said Monday afternoon.

“There is in no way, shape or form, anything that we could have done to prepare for what I’ve described as the worst Black Swan event that the city of Philadelphia has encountered in I don’t know how many years,” she said. (The term “black swan” refers to a highly improbable event, and is derived from a book of that name by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.)

At a press conference outside the Roosevelt Mall, near the crash site, she was joined by Gov. Josh Shapiro and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy.

NTSB investigators found the “black box” voice recorder in the crater where a Learjet crashed on Cottman Avenue near Roosevelt Mall. (NTSB)

Duffy, who started in the job less than a week ago, said there was no data recorder on the aircraft, but there was a voice recorder and an “enhanced ground proximity warning system” that can provide information on the aircraft’s speed and location before the crash.

“The FAA and the NTSB, they’re going to look at weather. Was there medical concerns? Was there technical or mechanical issues on the airplane? Even though this crash was so devastating, there are remains, whether it’s the engines, the wings, that they can look at and get answers to what took place here,” he said.

Duffy said that in touring the area of the crash along Cottman Avenue, between Bustleton Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard, he was struck by how “expansive” the strike zone was, its dense population, and the complex work of putting out fires and aiding residents that Philadelphia firefighters and police had to do Friday and Saturday.

“If you look at the impact and how deep that crater is, it was a very steep angle at which that aircraft came down,” he said.

Duffy lauded Parker for the city’s speedy and robust response to the crash, and said he expects a preliminary report from the federal agency will be available within 30 days. A final report on the probable cause and any contributing factors will take 12 to 24 months to complete, per the NTSB.

Seven victims, 24 injured

Seven people died in the crash — six who were on the Learjet 55 medical transport plane and one on the ground. 

The number injured as a result of the crash has increased from 22 to 24 people, including a responding firefighter who had a heart attack and a police officer who suffered from smoke inhalation, city officials said. Both were treated and released.

Parker said she visited two of those injured and their families at the hospital on Sunday.

“They know that we’re praying for them, and they were very grateful for it,” she said.

Four residential properties were destroyed and six had major damage, Parker spokesman Joe Grace said. A total of 343 residential properties were impacted by the plane crash, in addition to commercial properties and others.

Those on board the plane, operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, were all Mexican nationals, according to Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum. They included Valentina Guzman Murillo, a girl who had recently finished medical treatment at Shriners Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, and her mother, Lizeth Murillo Ozuna, according to news reports.

The others were captain Alan Alejandro Montoya Perales, copilot Josue de Jesus Juarez, Dr. Raul Meza Arredondo and paramedic Rodrigo Lopez Padilla.

The flight took off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport at 6:06 p.m. Friday, on its way to Missouri and then Mexico, and crashed less than a minute later.

Cottman Avenue remains closed as NTSB investigators remain on the scene and workers clean up numerous burned-out cars and other debris. Roosevelt Boulevard was fully reopened Monday after initially being closed.

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 Street. Those needing assistance can call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) for more information.

Mayor Parker said the city is still working on a way for residents to donate to support relief efforts for those impacted by the crash. In the meantime, the Salvation Army provided more than 1,500 meals and nearly 4,000 drinks to displaced residents and first responders.

Residents looking for mental or behavioral health support can dial 988 for the city’s crisis hotline or visit dbhids.org. 

The city will hold a town meeting Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Solomon Solis-Cohen School, 7001 Horrocks Street, Parker said. 

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.

A history of minor crashes

Northeast Philadelphia Airport and the surrounding area have seen aircraft crashes in the past, although apparently not in recent years. Most also did not involve jet planes like the Learjet that crashed Friday.

The airport does not service commercial flights. Instead, it handles charter and private aircraft, like the one meant to transport a child and her mom home to Mexico after medical care in Philadelphia before its tragic crash.

One of the few fatal crashes occurred in March 1978. The pilot of a single-engine Beech Bonanza flying from Blue Bell developed a fuel issue and crash-landed on the 7200 block of Eastwood Street, a few blocks from the site of Friday’s crash. The plane exploded in flames, killing the pilot.

Another fatal crash occurred in October 1952, according to the Flight Safety Foundation. A U.S. Air Force plane flying from Niagara Falls to Long Island-Mitchel Air Force Base in New York was diverted to LaGuardia Airport, couldn’t land because of fog, headed toward Philadelphia and crashed a mile north of Northeast Philadelphia Airport, killing three of the six passengers.

Other crashes have tended to be minor. In March 2014, for example, a Cessna was damaged but the pilot was unharmed during a landing at the airport, according to an NTSB report cited at the Plane Crash Map website. The report blamed the pilot’s failure to maintain control during gusty wind conditions.

In March 1996, a New Jersey man flying his Beechcraft Sierra from Frederick, Md., to Teterboro, N.J., encountered a storm and reported he was losing altitude, the Inquirer reported. He was directed to land at Northeast Philadelphia Airport, but ended up clipping a roof on Levick Street, about 3 miles away, before crashing into a parked car. Passers-by pulled him out of the plane and he survived.

In March 1991, a student-pilot and a teacher were injured when the single-engine Piper Warrior they were flying crashed into the roof of a building alongside a runway, starting a small fire.

In June 1989, a two-engine plane crashed upon landing, per the Inky. A front luggage hatch had opened after the plane took off, so it returned, landed, and started to skid. The pilot and two passengers got out before the plane started to burn.

In February 1981, a pilot of a single-engine Cessna had carburetor trouble immediately after taking off from the airport and crash-landed upside down on Algon Avenue in Rhawnhurst, the paper reported. Onlookers pulled him from the plane and he was hospitalized with back injuries.

The city-owned airport opened in 1945. It occupies 1,150 acres and has two runways of 5,000 and 7,000 feet, according to its website. It’s the state’s third-busiest airport and serves private and corporate travel, including international flights.  

Billy Penn reporters Nick Kariuki and Violet Comber-Wilen and PlanPhilly reporter Sophia Schmidt contributed to this report.

The article has been corrected to reflect that the NTSB is an independent agency.

Meir Rinde is an investigative reporter at Billy Penn covering topics ranging from politics and government to history and pop culture. He’s previously written for PlanPhilly, Shelterforce, NJ Spotlight,...