The six passengers traveling aboard the medical jet that crashed shortly upon takeoff in Northeast Philadelphia Friday night have been identified. All those onboard the Learjet 55 aircraft, including a pediatric patient who recently finished treatment at Shriners Children’s Hospital, were killed in the crash.
A spokesperson for Jet Rescue Air Ambulance said Sunday they were all those on board were Mexican citizens, including the 11-year-old patient, Alentina Guzman Murillo, who was accompanied by her 31-year-old mother Lizeth Murillo Ozuna. Also killed were Capt. Alan Alejandro Montoya Perales, 46, and Copilot Josue de Jesus Juarez Juarez, 43, along with Dr. Raul Meza Arredondo and paramedic Rodrigo Lopez Padilla, both 41. A person on the ground in a vehicle also died.
A spokesperson for Shriners Children’s Hospital said in a statement: “It’s extremely hard and extremely difficult, those that were involved directly in her care were very aware that she was going to be traveling home and there had actually been a sendoff for her today.
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said Sunday (via CBS NEWS) that the number of injured victims increased from 20 to 22 individuals — five remain hospitalized, three of whom are in critical condition.
The National Transportation Safety Board said the medical jet departed from a base in Florida around noon and arrived in Northeast Philadelphia around 2:15 p.m., headed to Springfield, Mo.,with the final destination in Tijuana, Mexico. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters there was no indication of a problem radioed to air traffic control before the crash, which left debris scattered across four to five city blocks near Roosevelt Mall. The NTSB said investigators are still looking for the plane’s cockpit voice recorder.
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