The cockpit voice recorder — or “black box” — recovered from the medical jet that crashed in Northeast Philadelphia, killing seven people and injuring several others, never recorded the flight audio and likely wasn’t working for several years, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed in a preliminary report. NBC10’s Claudia Vargas has the details and reaction from Patrick Hempen, who recently retired as the director of the FAA’s Aviation Accident Investigation Unit.
What to Know
- The National Transportation Safety Board says a cockpit voice recorder was not working on a medical transport plane that crashed in Philadelphia in January and likely had not been working for several years.
- In a preliminary report issued Thursday, the NTSB also confirms the flight crew made no distress calls to air traffic control. The medical transportation plane plummeted into a residential and commercial area within a minute of taking off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport on Jan. 31.
- The crash killed all six people aboard the Learjet 55 and a seventh person who was inside a vehicle on the ground. At least two dozen others on the ground were injured.
The cockpit voice recorder -- or "black box" -- recovered from the medical jet that crashed in Northeast Philadelphia, killing seven people and injuring several others, never recorded the flight audio and likely wasn't working for several years, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed in a preliminary report.
The new report is a detailed timeline on the Jan. 31 crash which killed everyone on board the plane, including 11-year-old pediatric patient Valentina Guzman Murillo and her 31-year-old mother Lizeth Murillo Ozuna.
Dr. Raul Meza Arredondo, 41, Captain Alan Montoya Perales, 46, the copilot, Josue de Jesus Juarez Juarez, 43, and paramedic Rodrigo Lopez Padilla, 41, were also killed in the crash. All four were from Mexico.
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The crash also killed Steven Dreuitt, a 37-year-old man who was driving in a car in Northeast Philadelphia with his son and partner at the time.
The crash also injured several others on the ground, including a 10-year-old boy in a vehicle who was hit by debris while trying to protect his sister, and caused widespread damage to the Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood.
Deadly medical jet crash in Philly
The NTSB released a preliminary report on the crash on Thursday, March 6, 2025, that provided more details on the timeline.
On Jan. 31, 2025, at 6:06 p.m. ET, a Learjet 55 airplane – a medical jet -- departed runway 24 at Northeast Philadelphia Airport. The airplane was headed to Springfield-Branson National Airport (SGF) in Springfield, Missouri, where it would land before heading to its ultimate destination in Tijuana, Mexico. Valentina Guzman Murillo and Lizeth Murillo Ozuna were both from Mexico and were headed there after Valentina spent five months at Shriners Children’s Philadelphia where she received medical treatment for a life-threatening illness.
After departing the airport, the plane proceeded to the southwest before turning right slightly and then entering a gradual left turn. The plane then continued in the left turn and reached an altitude of 1,650 feet mean sea level (an airport elevation of 119 feet), according to the NTSB. The NTSB said the track data for the flight ended at 6:07 p.m. ET with the plane traveling at 242 knots ground speed. The entire flight lasted for about a minute before the plane plummeted to the ground, according to the NTSB.
The flight’s crew was in communication with the air traffic control tower at the time of the accident and there were no distress calls received from the crew, the NTSB said. Numerous videos from witnesses showed the plane crashing to the ground, causing a massive explosion. The NTSB said the plane initially impacted a concrete sidewalk in a residential and commercial area on Cottman Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia, about three miles away from the airport.
The wreckage debris field was about 1,410 feet tall and 840 feet wide, according to the NTSB.
“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 NTSB wrote. “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 NTSB said the jet had a cockpit voice recorder (CVR), colloquially known as the “black box.” The CVR was recovered from the initial impact crater and was under eight feet of soil and debris. It was sent to the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory in Washington, DC, for processing. NTSB officials said the CVR displayed significant impact-related damage. After officials repaired and cleaned it, NTSB officials went through its contents. They determined the black box didn’t record the accident flight. They also determined the black box likely hadn’t been recording audio for several years.
NTSB officials said the plane 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," the NTSB wrote. "At the time of the writing of this report, that evaluation was ongoing."
The NTSB also detailed the weather conditions at the time of the crash.
“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 NTSB wrote.
Capt. Alan Alejandro Montoya Perales – the pilot who was killed in the crash – had an airline transport pilot certificate with ratings for airplane multiengine land and instrument airplane, according to the NTSB.
“He also held a medical certificate issued by Mexico’s Agencia Federal de Aviación Civil (AFAC),” the NTSB wrote. “The operator reported that he had accumulated 9,200 total hours of flight experience.”
The NTSB also said the airplane’s second-in-command pilot -- Josue de Jesus Juarez Juarez – held a commercial pilot certificate with single-engine land, multiengine land, and instrument privileges.
“He also held a medical certificate issued by AFAC,” the NTSB wrote. “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 NTSB said Thursday’s report is preliminary and they continue to investigate the crash. Ralph Hicks was named as the lead investigator in charge.
City officials said the resulting fire and debris destroyed or significantly damaged more than a dozen homes and businesses.
Andrew Parker Felix, an Orlando, Florida-based lawyer, represents a man who was driving home from work when his SUV became engulfed in jet fuel from the crash. He said the man spent 11 days in an intensive care burn unit, enduring skin grafts.
“This is going to be a long road of recovery in front of him,” Felix said.
At least three other law firms have said they represent victims of the crash.
The crash was among a series of recent aviation disasters and close calls that left some people worried about the safety of flying. It came just two days after an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter collided in midair in Washington, D.C. — the deadliest U.S. air disaster in a generation.
View the full report below:
