Trump Responds To Second Plane Crash In As Many Days
Former President Donald Trump has shared his reaction following a second aviation tragedy in just two days, after a Lear 55 medical jet crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood.
“So sad to see the plane go down in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More innocent souls lost. Our people are totally engaged. First Responders are already being given credit for doing a great job. More to follow. God Bless you all,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform late Friday night.
According to Fox News, the jet was operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance and had just departed from a northeastern Philadelphia airport before it went down. The network also obtained unsettling audio recordings from air traffic control capturing the final moments before the crash.
The recording, accessed by Fox News Digital, was taken just before takeoff. In it, air traffic controllers can be heard urgently trying to establish communication with the aircraft before it lost control.
“What’s going on down there?” an air traffic controller is heard asking.
“We have a lost aircraft. We’re not exactly sure what happened. So, we’re trying to figure it out,” another controller responds. “The field is going to be closed so no inbounds-outbounds.” The plane had departed around 6:55 pm EDT.
Fox News reported that all six individuals on board—two pilots, a physician, a paramedic, a pediatric patient, and the child’s mother—were Mexican nationals. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that the flight was headed for Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri.
Shai Gold, a representative for Air Ambulance, informed Fox News Digital that the patient had traveled to the U.S. for critical medical treatment. After successfully completing the procedure, she had been discharged and was on her way home.
Experienced pilots reviewing footage of the catastrophic crash speculated that a takeoff stall was likely the cause.
“The plane was out of the crew’s control. It was not controlled flight into terrain (CFIT). May have been a mechanical malfunction of the stabilizer, elevator, trim or even a load shift rearward within the cabin,” said John Anderson, a retired pilot from Philadelphia, in a statement to Fox News.
He further suggested that if “it was a medical flight with a stretcher on board and the stretcher was not properly secured, it may have rolled rearward.”
“This would cause the nose to raise and stall the wing. In that case, the nose will drop with the angle in the video,” Anderson explained. “Because it was right after takeoff and the initial climb, I would say it was likely a swing stall. There could be a number of factors that would cause a stall. Could have been a runaway trim, malfunctioning stabilizer.”
The fatal incident occurred just 48 hours after another deadly aviation accident, when an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter collided near Reagan National Airport, claiming the lives of 67 people.
Reports indicate that the medical jet was transporting a young girl who had traveled to the U.S. for life-saving treatment and was returning home at the time of the crash.
“The plane was loaded with jet fuel that’s highly flammable,” Gold told Fox News. “There is no indication that anybody survived, and by the debris field, I would be pleasantly surprised to learn otherwise.”
According to reports, the crash caused jet fuel to spray onto nearby row houses and vehicles, sparking fires in the area.
“[There was] a very seasoned pilot [and a] very seasoned co-pilot,” Gold said. “They know the job, and they do it many times. We fly 600 to 700 missions a year. We are very busy, very active, and we keep top-notch staff.”
He noted that although the company is based in Mexico, it is fully licensed both there and in Florida.