Jet Rescue Air Ambulance in fatal crash

The aircraft XA-UCI, a Learjet 55, crashed after take off from Philadelphia.

Six people, including a paediatric patient and her mother, were onboard at the time of the crash. A seventh victim, currently unnamed, was on the ground at the time of the incident.

A further 22 people were hospitalized as a result of the crash, with five still receiving care as of Sunday, including three in critical condition.

Jet Rescue has identified the six victims that were on the plane as Captain Alan Alejandro Montoya Perales, co-pilot Josue de Jesus Juarez Juarez, Doctor Raul Meza Arredondo, Rodrigo Lopez Padilla, patient Valentina Guzman Murillo, and her mother Lizeth Murillo Ozuna. All six people were Mexican citizens.

Valentina had been receiving care in the US for a life-threatening condition, and was returning to Tijuana, Mexico when the crash occurred.

Gold told US news outlet NBC the child's treatment was sponsored by a third-partner charity. Mel Bower, a spokesman for Shriner’s Children’s Hospital was only able to comment: “The patient had received care from Shriners Children’s Philadelphia and was being transported back to her home country in Mexico when the crash happened.”

The plane took off from the Northeast Philadelphia Airport about 18:30 local time and crashed less than four miles (6.4km) away, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA said in a statement that the flight was en-route to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri, where it was scheduled to stop before heading onto its final destination of Tijuana, Mexico. The plane came down near Philadelphia's Roosevelt Mall.

“The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate. The NTSB will lead the investigation and will provide all updates,” added the FAA.

NTSB officials have stated that preliminary work shows that the plane climbed to around 1,500 feet before going into a steep descent, with the entire flight lasting less than a minute.

Jet Rescue told AMR: "Jet Rescue Air Ambulance mourns the loss of two passengers and four crew who were onboard XA-UCI during a fatal accident that took place after takeoff from Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE) on Friday, January 31st, 2025 at approximately 18:25. We also mourn the death of a driver killed at the impact zone and extend get-well wishes to all who were injured by the accident.   

"Jet Rescue is cooperating fully with NTSB which is investigating the accident. We have complete confidence in their ability to evaluate and conclude what was the cause of the accident.  

"Air ambulance aviators, and medical crew, are unique individuals whose expertise are tested every day. They are the heroes of the aeromedical field, carrying and caring for children and adults across borders, mountains and oceans with a single goal of bringing them to medical safety and their families. 

"Jet Rescue thanks the remarkable efforts of local, state and federal agencies who responded to the scene of the accident, including the Governor, the Mayor, State and Federal Secretaries of Transportation, and the Chairwoman of the NTSB."

The incident comes just over a year after a another Jet Rescue aircraft crashed in Mexico in November 2023.