Plane crashes into homes in Philadelphia, deaths feared

A small plane crashed in Northeast Philadelphia on Friday, prompting a fiery response from emergency crews. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed in a statement that the plane which crashed was a Learjet 55.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said he was offering all state resources to assist in the response.

The crash site is less than 5 kilometres from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, which mainly handles business jets and charter flights. Philadelphia’s emergency management office described the incident as a “major incident” and confirmed road closures in the area.

Flight data showed a small jet taking off from the airport at 4.36 am (IST) and disappearing from radar about 30 seconds later. According to the FAA, two people were onboard the plane, which was heading towards Missouri.

The plane appeared to be a medical transport jet. The plane that took off and quickly disappeared from radar was registered to a company operating as Med Jets, reported news agency AP.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is gathering information about the crash.

This comes days after a deadly mid-air collision involving a plane and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter near Washington airport in which 67 people died.

With inputs from agencies