Med Jets Flight 056

On January 31, 2025, Med Jets Flight 056, a Learjet 55 operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, crashed in the Castor Gardens neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, shortly after takeoff, killing everyone on board and one person on the ground. The aircraft was on a medevac flight from Northeast Philadelphia Airport to Tijuana International Airport, with a planned refueling stop at Springfield–Branson National Airport.
Six people, including a young patient and her mother, were on board. The aircraft struck multiple buildings and vehicles during the accident, which caused fires and explosions that killed one person on the ground and injured at least 24 others.
Meteorological data recorded by the National Weather Service indicated the presence of light rain, overcast and foggy conditions, and a 30-mile-per-hour (48 km/h; 26 kn) wind gust recorded just before 6 p.m. in Philadelphia. Visibility was estimated at 6 miles (10 km; 5 nmi).
The aircraft involved in the medical evacuation was a Learjet 55 air ambulance operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, a brand of Mexican company Med Jets. It was registered as XA-UCI and was manufactured in 1982. According to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the aircraft departed on runway 24 from Northeast Philadelphia Airport at 6:06 p.m., en route to Springfield–Branson National Airport in Springfield, Missouri.
The FAA confirmed the six people were on board the Learjet 55.
Jet Rescue identified the crew as Captain Alan Alejandro Montoya Perales, with 9,200 flight hours. Co-pilot Josué Juárez had 2,600 flight hours.
The other 4 people on board were Doctor Raúl Meza Arredondo, and Paramedic Rodrigo López Padilla. They were transporting pediatric patient Valentina Guzmán Murillo and her mother, Lizeth Murillo Ozuna, from Ensenada, Mexico. All six individuals were Mexican nationals.
Valentina had recently completed four months of treatment at the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Philadelphia, where hospital staff had held a farewell celebration for her earlier that day. Dr. Meza Arredondo was the chief of neonatology at XE Médica Ambulancias and also practiced at a hospital in Atizapán de Zaragoza. The co-pilot, a resident of central Mexico with over ten years of flying experience, had been with Jet Rescue for more than a year.
At 6:06 pm EST (UTC−5) on Friday, January 31, 2025, the Learjet 55 crashed near Roosevelt Mall at Cottman Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard, with the aircraft and debris hitting several buildings. The aircraft took off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport on a southwest heading, climbed to 1,650 feet (500 m), disappeared from radar, then crashed 40 seconds later less than three miles (4.8 km; 2.6 nmi) away. The last received data from the aircraft shown by Flightradar24 reported the Learjet's altitude at 1,275 feet (389 m) and an increasing speed of 242 knots (448 km/h; 278 mph).
The aircraft descended at a rate of around 11,000 feet per minute (3,350 m/min). A doorbell camera filmed the airplane falling out of the sky, producing a large explosion with heavy plumes of smoke after hitting the ground. WTXF-TV coverage showed a large debris field and several fires.
The crash was the second fatal accident involving Jet Rescue in 15 months, following a November 2023 runway excursion at Cuernavaca Airport in Mexico that killed four people.
On February 4, Jet Rescue Air Ambulance released the names of the crew and passengers aboard the flight: captain Alan Alejandro Montoya Perales, co-pilot Josué de Jesús Juárez Juárez, Dr. Raúl Meza Arredondo, paramedic Rodrigo López Padilla, pediatric patient Valentina Guzmán Murillo and her mother Lizeth Murillo Ozuna.
One person in a car was killed. The crash destroyed four homes and damaged 17 others along with several businesses, and ignited several homes and businesses in the Roosevelt Mall area, and vehicles. The fire spread to nearby row homes. Twenty-four people on the ground were injured, at least three of them critically.
A university hospital admitted six victims on the ground, three of whom were treated and released on the same day. Another two were discharged later, while a second hospital admitted 15 people (12 released). The injured included a person eating in a diner who was struck in the head by crash debris through a window.
The FAA ordered a ground stop at Northeast Philadelphia Airport. The Philadelphia Police Department initiated a citywide emergency response to stop the spread of fires. Philadelphia's Office of Emergency Management closed roads near the crash site and urged citizens away.
The FAA announced that it would investigate the crash, with the lead of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The NTSB stated that an investigator had arrived on January 31 and more officials would arrive on February 1.
On February 2, the NTSB recovered the cockpit voice recorder, the enhanced ground proximity warning system, which could contain flight data, and the two engines of the aircraft. These were sent for evaluation at the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory in Washington, D.C. On March 6, the NTSB announced in the crash preliminary report that the cockpit voice recorder had not recorded the flight and had likely been inoperative for several years.
President Donald Trump was briefed on the situation. Commenting on Truth Social, he described the accident as a tragic loss of "innocent souls" and commended the efforts of first responders. Trump stated, "Our people are totally engaged," and added, "God Bless you all."
Governor of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro and his office coordinated response efforts with Mayor of Philadelphia Cherelle Parker, the Office of Emergency Management, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the Philadelphia Fire Department, and said that all state resources were available for assistance.
Mike Driscoll, councilmember of the 6th District of the Philadelphia City Council and chair of the Transportation and Utilities Committee, described the situation as an active emergency response with reported mass casualties. He urged the public to avoid the area and highlighted the focus on supporting first responders and affected families.
State Representative Jared Solomon, who represents the district where the crash occurred, described the neighborhood as a working-class area of dense row homes, telling the AP, "These are just people who want to help others. They're nurses, they're construction workers, they are first responders. In a community that is always poised to help others in and around our city, now we sort of are able to turn inward and all unite together."
Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum expressed condolences to the crash fatalities and ordered the Secretary of Foreign Affairs to assist their families.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Transportation Safety Board.