A Learjet 55 used as an air ambulance crashed shortly after takeoff from Northeast Philadelphia Airport early Friday evening in the United States.

The aircraft, Mexican registration XA-UCI of the company Jet Rescue (Med Jets), had two pilots and four passengers and there were no survivors.

According to preliminary data, the plane took off from runway 24 at 6:06 p.m. and reached 1,650 ft when it began a rapid descent towards the ground.

The flight was headed to Springfield-Branson National Airport, a stopover on the way to Tijuana, Mexico, where it was carrying a child and her mother.

Videos show the Learjet 55 crashing and a large fireball rising from the ground.

This is the second accident involving a Jet Rescue rescue aircraft in less than 15 months.

The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Philadelphia (Social media)
The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Philadelphia (Social media)

On November 1, 2023, another Learjet, registration XA-IRE, crashed after landing at Cuernavaca Airport in Morelos, Mexico. All five occupants were killed.

The Learjet 55 crash occurred two days after a PSA Airlines (American Eagle) CRJ-700 collided in mid-air with a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter while on approach to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

The two crash sites are approximately 135 miles (217 km) apart.