Featured Image Credit: @nicksortor/X
Topics: Social Media, News, US News
Niamh Shackleton
Devastating videos show the moment a medical jet carrying six people crashed into a residential area in Philadelphia.
Yesterday (January 31), a Jet Rescue Air Ambulance carrying a child patient, who was already in a life-threatening condition, and five others crashed shortly after taking off.
All six people onboard hailed from Mexico and are feared to have died in the ordeal.
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Meanwhile, six people on the ground were reported to have been injured, BBC News reports - three of whom have since been released from hospital.
The plane, a Learjet 55, quickly disappeared from radar after taking off from the airport at 6.06pm and climbing to an altitude of 1,600 feet (487 metres).
It was en route to Springfield, Missouri, and registered to a company operating as Med Jets, according to the flight tracking website Flight Aware.
There's been several videos shared of the tragic ordeal, including Ring doorbell footage.
The video shows the plane falling from the sky in a streak of white and exploding in a fireball as it hits the ground in a residential neighborhood near a shopping mall and major roadway.
"All we heard was a loud roar and didn’t know where it was coming from. We just turned around and saw the big plume," said Jim Quinn, the owner of the doorbell camera.
In another clip shared on Twitter, the plane was compared to 'a missile' as it was seen plummeting into people's homes.
The video, which seems to have been taken from someone's home CCTV, sees a white flash fall towards the Northeast Philadelphia residential area in question and cause a huge explosion.
Dozens of people have since compared the clip to the plane being missile-like.
Someone said: "Looks more like a missile!"
"Doesn't really look like a plane. Too fast and straight. Looks like a missile or a meteorite," suggested another at first.
"Turn your volume UP and listen THATS A MISSILE," added at third.
But it was in fact an aircraft, despite how this particular video looked.
Following the devastating events, the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) has confirmed that it will be investigating the presumed fatal crash.
It said in a statement yesterday, as per its website: "A Learjet 55 crashed around 6:30 p.m. local time on Friday, Jan. 31, after departing from Northeast Philadelphia Airport. Six people were on board. The plane was en route to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri.
"The FAA and NTSB will investigate. The NTSB will lead the investigation and will provide all updates."
President Donald Trump took to TruthSocial to address the crash. He wrote: "So sad to see the plane go down in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More innocent souls lost. Our people are totally engaged."