A medical transport jet carrying a child patient, her mother and four others slammed into a Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, killing everyone on board as well as a person in a vehicle on the ground and injuring at least 22 others.
The plane crashed 30 seconds after takeoff from Northeast Philadelphia airport, which primarily serves business jets and charter flights.
The plane was headed to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Springfield, Missouri. From there it would have traveled to Tijuana, Mexico, for its final destination.
Shai Gold, a spokesperson for Jet Rescue Air Ambulance – the plane’s operator – told NBC10 the six people on board included a girl, her mother, a pilot, copilot, doctor and paramedic.
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In an update on Saturday, Jet Rescue Air Ambulance identified the crew as Capt. Alan Alejandro Montoya Perales, co-pilot Josue de Jesus Juarez Juarez, Dr. Raul Meza Arredondo, and paramedic Rodrigo Lopez Padilla.
The Government of Ensenada also identified the girl and mother who died in the crash as Valentina Guzman Murillo and Lizeth Murillo Ozuna, respectively.
Valentina Guzman Murillo had received treatment at Shriners Children’s Philadelphia for a life-threatening condition, Gold said.
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"All I can say is, the patient was sponsored by a third-partner charity to undergo life-saving treatment in the U.S.," Gold said. "She did her course of care. She was going home. She fought quite a lot to survive, and unfortunately, this tragedy on the way home."
Shriners spokesperson Mel Bower told NBC10 the girl had just been released from the hospital on Friday.
“I know that the team there in Philadelphia today had a sendoff for her,” he said. “It’s always a meaningful but yet emotional time for us. It’s really just been compounded by the tragic ending.”
Bower spoke about the impact the crash has had on the hospital’s staff.
“It’s devastating news. All of our patients are like family to us. It’s not just about the care that they received. It is the whole experience of working with them and their families,” he said. “The care that they receive is much more than just clinical. It is very devastating to us. All of our patients are very dear to us and to have such a tragedy happen, it’s just so hard for all of us. Every child deserves to live their best life and that’s our goal. And to see one end so tragically is just heartbreaking.”
In addition to the six people on board the jet, another person who was in a vehicle on the ground was killed while at least 22 others were injured during the crash.
During a Sunday morning press conference, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker revealed five of the injured victims remain hospitalized and three of them are in critical condition.
On Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, officials identified the man who died on the ground as 37-year-old Steven Dreuitt of Philadelphia.
The survivors include an 11-year-old boy who suffered head injuries, a 31-year-old man who suffered head injuries and a 30-year-old woman who suffered facial injuries, a source told NBC10.
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