Plane in Philadelphia crash was transporting child who had come to U.S. for ‘life-saving treatment’
The plane that crashed in Northeast Philadelphia this evening was carrying a child from Mexico who had undergone life-saving treatment at Shriners Children’s Philadelphia hospital, a spokesperson said.
The Shriners spokesperson told that the institution was “heartbroken” over the Learjet crash, in which survivors had yet to be reported among the six on board the air ambulance.
Shai Gold, a spokesperson for the flight’s operator, Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, told the station that the patient had come to the U.S. for “life-saving treatment” and was returning to Mexico by way of Tijuana International Airport.
“The treatment ran its course. She was ready to go home, and we were contracted to bring her back home to Mexico,” Gold said.
The hospital spokesperson said the child was traveling with her mother.
The identities of the six people on board the plane have not been publicly released. At least six others connected to the crash were injured and treated at Temple University Hospital — Jeanes Campus near Northeast Philadelphia, a spokesperson for that institution said.
Pilot of downed plane remembered for his ‘passion for flying’
Friends and family of Capt. Jonathan J. Campos, the pilot of the plane in the deadly midair collision, are paying tribute by sharing stories of his sense of humor, passion for flying and his dedication.
His uncle Hector Campos said his nephew “was a great kid.”
Campos’ stepmother, Sonia Carrasquillo, asked for privacy on behalf of the family when speaking to Telemundo Puerto Rico, NBC’s sister station in the U.S. territory.
According to Hector Campos, the family was heading to Washington, D.C., on Friday.
Trans pilot shares ‘proof of life’ after false claims she flew helicopter
A transgender military pilot posted a “proof of life” video Friday to refute rumors spread on social media that she was flying the helicopter that near Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night, killing 67 people.
“I understand some people have associated me with the crash in D.C., and that is false,” Jo Ellis, a Black Hawk pilot with the Virginia Army National Guard, said in the Facebook video. “It is insulting to the families to try to tie this to some sort of political agenda. They don’t deserve that. I don’t deserve this. And I hope that you all know that I am alive and well, and this should be sufficient for you all to end all the rumors.”
Several hours prior to posting the video, Ellis shared a screenshot on her Facebook account of in which someone had shared two images of her and made the false claim that she was the Black Hawk pilot involved in the deadly crash.
Ellis did not immediately return a request for additional comment.
Small plane crashes near mall in Northeast Philadelphia
Days after the worst U.S aviation disaster in years, a near a mall in Northeast Philadelphia about 6:30 p.m. tonight, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Jet Rescue Air Ambulance said it could not confirm any survivors after a plane carrying four crew members, a juvenile patient and an escort crashed, Jet Rescue Air Ambulance said in a statement.
The Learjet 55 departed from Northeast Philadelphia Airport and was headed to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri, the FAA said. Jet Rescue Air Ambulance said the plane crashed after takeoff.
The National Safety Transportation Board will lead the investigation into the crash in conjunction with the FAA, the FAA said.
Family remembers crash victim as ‘true adventurer’
Chris Collins, a Massachusetts native who lived in the New York City area, was among those killed in the crash, his family has confirmed. He was a “beloved husband, son, brother, and uncle.”
Collins, who was raised in North Dighton, Massachusetts, and moved to New York City to pursue his career in finance, is remembered as “a true adventurer with a passion for the outdoors and a lifelong love of animals.” He enjoyed traveling to such destinations as Iceland, the Great Smoky Mountains and Cape Cod, they said.
“Chris’ kindness and compassion extended to everyone, whether you were a family member, friend, or one of the many strangers he connected with during his outdoor adventures,” his family said in a statement. “He will be in our hearts forever.”
Salvage operation underway
Salvage operations are underway in the Potomac River after this week’s deadly crash, NTSB officials said this evening.
The Navy supervisor of salvage is leading the operations, and barges from Virginia Beach are expected to arrive early tomorrow, said Todd Inman, the NTSB board member on scene.
The barges will then be secured, and the salvage operations will continue — this will be the main lifting, according to Inman.
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School mourns an alum
The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School the death of alumna Sarah Best.
“Sarah was a brilliant, kind, and compassionate soul who touched the lives of so many,” dean and Bernard G. Segal professor of law Sophia Z. Lee said. “Our thoughts are with her family, friends, and loved ones during this tragic time. As we grieve together, we hold close the memory of Sarah and the light she brought into our lives.”
Best, a Clarksville, Tennessee, native and graduate of Vanderbilt University, worked as a high school teacher and instructional coach before enrolling in Penn Carey Law, the school said.
She was an accomplished student and active in student groups, including the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association and the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, the school said. After she graduated, she clerked for several courts before joining Wilkinson Stekloff LLP, the university said in its statement.
Black box from helicopter has been recovered
The National Transportation Safety Board has recovered the black box from the military Black Hawk helicopter, Todd Inman, NTSB board member on scene, said at an afternoon news conference.
The agency expects a “full extraction” of data from the device.
Two devices have been recovered from the passenger plane. Inman said officials expect a “full download” of information from the jet’s flight data recorder, as well, but that the information will not be released immediately after it is downloaded.
The cockpit voice recorder from the jet was also recovered but had “water intrusion,” which Inman said is “not uncommon.”
He said officials have a “very high level of confidence” that data from the device will be recovered, just that it will take a number of steps to get there.
Knowing what happened inside helicopter moments before crash likely to be key to the investigation
As federal officials continue investigating what caused the deadliest U.S. air crash in almost a quarter century, understanding what happened inside the Army Black Hawk helicopter — and exactly what altitude it was flying at when it collided with a passenger jet — will likely be key to unraveling the disaster, aviation experts say.
A pair of seasoned Army pilots were at the controls, with a third aviator seated behind them for a routine mission in clear weather on Wednesday — part of an annual evaluation to test a pilot’s knowledge and proficiency in the cockpit, officials said. The flight path, too, was a familiar one: The buzz of military helicopters is a constant above Washington, D.C.
And yet the training flight ended in a fireball in the night sky as the UH-60 Black Hawk slammed into a commercial airliner carrying 64 people, leaving no survivors.
Publicly available data reviewed by NBC News suggests the Army helicopter may have been flying too high at the time of the crash, but investigators cautioned against drawing conclusions before they’re able to analyze official flight data.
‘They were my everything’: Man mourns death of cancer survivor daughter and his wife
Andy Beyer lost his wife, Justyna, and their daughter, Brielle, in Wednesday’s plane collision.
He remembers his 12-year-old daughter, who survived a rare cancer when she was just an infant, as “someone who was just meant to sparkle.”
“And she did,” Beyer said. “She was a beautiful singer, had a beautiful voice. She used to fill the house with just whatever was on her mind — Taylor Swift, and lately, ‘Wicked.'”
The 12-year-old and her mother, Justyna, were in Wichita, where Brielle was completing ice skating training since last week.
“Six days was the longest we had ever been apart, and it was, it was hard,” Beyer said. “I really missed them. I was really looking forward to giving them a hug.”
FAA posts map of helicopter traffic restrictions around D.C. area
The Federal Aviation Administration will restrict helicopter traffic around Reagan National Airport effective today, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Who was aboard the Army Black Hawk?
The Pentagon has launched its own investigation into how an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines passenger plane over the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport.
Olympic champion Brian Boitano mourns loss of friends in D.C. crash
Like much of the skating community, Olympic champion Brian Boitano is mourning the loss of friends and colleagues who died in this week’s deadly midair plane collision.
“We are a tight-knit community, and we are all connected to each other,” he said, adding that his friends were not only champion skaters and elite athletes but also great representatives for the sport who were kind and caring.
Figure skaters, union workers and a law professor: What we know about the victims
They were minutes from landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., when their plane collided with an Army helicopter over the Potomac River.
In a horrible flash captured on video and seen around the world, the fates of all 60 passengers and four crew members aboard American Eagle Flight 5342 and the three soldiers on the Black Hawk helicopter were sealed.
The plane’s passengers included more than a dozen people returning from a training camp following the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas, where the flight originated.
