Date:	Friday 31 January 2025
Time:	18:07
Type:	Learjet 55
Owner/operator:	Med Jets SA de CV dba Jet Rescue
Registration:	XA-UCI
MSN:	55-032
Year of manufacture:	1982
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6
Other fatalities:	2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Category:	Accident
Location:	near North Philadelphia Airport (PNE/KPNE), Philadelphia, PA -   United States of America
Phase:	Initial climb
Nature:	Ambulance
Departure airport:	Philadelphia-North Philadelphia Airport, PA (PNE/KPNE)
Destination airport:	Springfield-Branson National Airport, MO (SGF/KSGF)
Investigating agency:	NTSB
Confidence Rating:	Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities

Narrative:
On January 31, 2025, at 1807 eastern standard time, a Learjet 55 airplane, Mexican registration XA-UCI (call sign MTS056) was destroyed when it was involved in an accident in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The two pilots, two medical crewmembers, and two passengers were fatally injured. One person on the ground was fatally injured, 4 people were seriously injured, and 20 people incurred minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 129 air ambulance flight.

Preliminary ADS-B flight track data obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration revealed that the flight departed runway 24 at Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, about 1806, with the intended destination of Springfield-Branson National Airport (SGF), Springfield, Missouri. The airplane proceeded to the southwest before it turned right slightly and then entered a gradual left turn. The airplane continued in the left turn and reached an altitude of 1,650 ft mean sea level (airport elevation was 119 ft). The track data ended at 1807, at 1,275 ft msl, and at 242 knots ground speed. The duration of the flight was about 1 minute.

The flight crew was in communication with the PNE air traffic control tower at the time of the accident and there were no distress calls received from the flight crew.

The airplane initially impacted a concrete sidewalk in a residential and commercial area. Security camera videos depicted a large explosion associated with the initial impact. The wreckage debris field was about 1,410 ft in length and 840 ft wide, oriented on a magnetic heading of about 150°. The airplane impacted a commercial sign during its descent, and the calculated descent angle based on the height of the observed damage to the sign was about 22°. The wreckage was highly fragmented. Wreckage and debris penetrated numerous homes, commercial buildings, and vehicles in the area, resulting in extensive fire and impact damage.

The airplane was equipped with a cockpit voice recorder (CVR). The CVR was recovered from the initial impact crater under 8 ft of soil and debris and was sent to the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory, Washington, DC, for processing and readout. The recorder displayed significant impact-related damage as well as liquid ingress. After extensive repair and cleaning, the 30-minute-long tape-based recording medium was auditioned to determine its contents. The CVR did not record the accident flight and during the audition it was determined that the CVR had likely not been recording audio for several years.

The airplane was also equipped with an Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS). The EGPWS computer, which may contain flight data in its nonvolatile memory, was shipped to the manufacturer’s facility for evaluation and to determine whether any relevant flight data could be recovered. At the time of the writing of this report, that evaluation was ongoing.

Night, instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at PNE at the time of the accident, including an overcast ceiling at 400 ft above ground level, wind from 220° at 9 knots, and 6 statute miles visibility.

The pilot-in-command held an airline transport pilot certificate with ratings for airplane multiengine land and instrument airplane. He also held a medical certificate issued by Mexico’s Agencia Federal de Aviación Civil (AFAC). The operator reported that he had accumulated 9,200 total hours of flight experience. The second-in-command pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with single-engine land, multiengine land, and instrument privileges. He also held a medical certificate issued by AFAC. The operator reported that he had accumulated 2,600 total hours of flight experience. Both pilots held a type rating for the Learjet 55.

The wreckage was recovered from the accident site and retained for further examination.

Weather:
METAR KPNE 312054Z 21010KT 4SM -RA BR OVC006 08/08 A2974 RMK AO2 SLP072 P0005 60005 T00780078 56036
METAR KPNE 312117Z 23010KT 3SM -RA BR SCT006 BKN012 OVC090 08/08 A2976 RMK AO2 P0002 T00830083
METAR KPNE 312130Z 27007KT 4SM -RA BR BKN006 BKN012 OVC075 08/08 A2976 RMK AO2 P0003 T00830083
METAR KPNE 312154Z 17005KT 2 1/2SM -RA BR OVC005 08/08 A2971 RMK AO2 CIG 005V009 PRESFR SLP062 P0007 T00780078 $

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/31/us/philadelphia-jet-crash-fire/index.html
https://en.apa.az/america/philadelphia-plane-crash-six-on-board-and-person-in-car-killed-video-459557
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg0m5n8g0do
https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/plane-crash-northeast-philadelphia-20250131.html
https://6abc.com/amp/post/northeast-philadelphia-small-plane-crash-cottman-Roosevelt-Boulevard/15852260/
https://bit.ly/3Z2GeIs?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR76cmFWgtmxJPPrm-SiKPy6rIqgXqOdIcOWoCEMt-wOTCvR5e54Mhy4FooujQ_aem__8Iiu5P0x3Mm8wTnI1cUGA

NTSB
https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/XAUCI/history/20250131/2200Z/KPNE/KSGF
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=0d086e&lat=40.060&lon=-75.044&zoom=15.0&showTrace=2025-01-31&trackLabels

https://cdn.jetphotos.com/full/5/40710_1624370034.jpg (photo)

Ex N125LR, N255UJ, N183SD, N83SD, N11TS, N81CH, N71TP, (N72TP), N75TP

XA-UCI at Vancouver, December 2024 (photo: King Hui; CC:by)

BULLETIN: AIRPLANE CRASH IN PHILADELPHIA COTTMAN AVENUE OFF ROOSEVELT BOULEVARD. @PhillyPolice & @PhillyFireDept on scene pic.twitter.com/VR83HyColt

— Steve Keeley (@KeeleyFox29) January 31, 2025

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
31-Jan-2025 23:49	Captain Adam	Added
01-Feb-2025 00:41	Captain Adam	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Nature, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, ]
01-Feb-2025 00:48	Captain Adam	Updated [Narrative, ]
01-Feb-2025 06:45	ASN	Updated [Registration, Source, ]
01-Feb-2025 06:47	ASN	Updated [Narrative, ]
01-Feb-2025 09:39	rennfrikadelle	Updated [Category, ]
01-Feb-2025 14:39	ASN	Updated
01-Feb-2025 15:08	ASN	Updated [Photo, ]
01-Feb-2025 16:55	gerard57	Updated [Narrative, ]
01-Feb-2025 17:00	Bob	Updated
01-Feb-2025 17:00	SignorPignolini	Updated [Source, ]
01-Feb-2025 20:30	RobertMB	Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative, ]
01-Feb-2025 23:30	Captain Adam	Updated [Source, Narrative, ]
02-Feb-2025 04:57	RobertMB	Updated [Narrative, ]
02-Feb-2025 11:13	Captain Adam	Updated [Source, Narrative, ]
02-Feb-2025 13:13	YacineBoussoufa	Updated [Narrative, ]
02-Feb-2025 16:27	RobertMB	Updated [Narrative, ]
02-Feb-2025 17:34	Captain Adam	Updated [Narrative, ]
02-Feb-2025 18:25	RobertMB	Updated [Narrative, ]
02-Feb-2025 21:09	Captain Adam	Updated [Narrative, ]
06-Feb-2025 15:20	RobertMB	Updated [Narrative, ]
06-Feb-2025 20:29	Captain Adam	Updated [Narrative, ]
06-Feb-2025 20:59	RobertMB	Updated [Narrative, ]
06-Feb-2025 21:00	RobertMB	Updated
07-Feb-2025 00:04	Captain Adam	Updated [Narrative, ]
07-Feb-2025 03:30	Iceman 29	Updated [Embed code, ]
07-Feb-2025 17:54	Bluefish_124	Updated [Embed code, ]
06-Mar-2025 20:40	Captain Adam	Updated [Time, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Accident report, ]
06-May-2025 15:04	SignorPignolini	Updated [Source, ]