OAN Staff James Meyers
9:10 AM – Monday, February 3, 2025
The six passengers traveling on a medical jet before it crashed in Northeast Philadelphia Friday night leaving them dead have been identified, as authorities discovered the jet’s black box.
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Valentina Guzman Murillo, 11, her mother, Lizeth Murillo Ozuna, 31, Capt. Alan Alejandro Montoya Perales, co-pilot Josue de Jesus Juarez Juarez, Dr. Raul Meza Arredondo, and paramedic Rodrigo Lopez Padilla died in the Mexico-bound Learjet 55 aircraft crash, the company operating the medical transport flight, Jet Rescue Air, told CBS News.
Valentina had just finished life-saving treatment at Shriners Children’s Hospital and was heading back home to Mexico.
“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,” hospital spokesperson Mel Bower said.
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has confirmed that all six victims onboard were Mexican citizens.
“I regret the death of six Mexicans in the plane crash in Philadelphia. The consular authorities are in permanent contact with the families,” Sheinbaum wrote on X Saturday morning.
The seventh person killed was in a car as debris from the Learjet 55 crash exploded into the neighborhood.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker (D-Pa.) said in a press conference Sunday that 22 people were injured and five remain hospitalized following the crash.
Additionally, at least 11 homes and some businesses were also significantly damaged, according to Parker.
“Our city continues to mourn their loss and they are in our thoughts are prayers,” Parker said of the deceased victims.
Additionally, investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed that they had recovered the black box eight feet underground at the site of the crash, according to NBC10.
The aircraft’s ground proximity warning system (EGPWS) had also been found.
As a result, the black box and EGPWS will be sent to Washington, D.C., for evaluation and could contain critical flight data.
Additionally, Parker said that officials were going door to door to seek information from neighborhood residents.
“The situation is fluid and it is active,” Parker said.
The Mexico-bound air ambulance reached about 1,500 feet less than a minute after takeoff from Northeast Philadelphia Airport when it crashed at Roosevelt Boulevard and Cottman Avenue just after 6 p.m.
NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy called it a “high-impact crash” that left the plane “highly fragmented.”
The crash took up close to four to six blocks, as authorities were assessing the damage, including going house to house to do inspections, Philadelphia managing director Adam Thiel said during Sunday’s press conference.
The jet was scheduled to stop at Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri before reaching Mexico.
Residents have been asked to report any debris they find in the area.
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