Private Plane Crashes Onto Cottman Avenue.
by Alex Lloyd Gross
UPDATE 9:30 PM The plane was a Lear 55 jet that crashed at Roosevelt Blvd. and Cottman Avenue was a Medevac jet with six persons on board, consisting of four crew members, a pediatric patient and the patient’s escort. The jet was only in the air for 41 seconds before falling from the sky and exploding upon impact. There is a wide debris field, with debris being located more than a mile from the crash site.
A private plane,presumably a small jet crashed onto Cottman Avenue near Bradford Street. Multiple fatalities have been reported. The crash happened just after 6:00 PM. A huge fireball erupted as the aircraft hit a house and several cars on Cottman Avenue.
Minutes after this happened, bystanders immediately ran towards to the scene with cellphones trying to capture what they could. The fireball was fed by jet fuel. Reports were that the plane just took off from Northeast Airport.
Some residents of the 7200 blocks of streets at border Cottmn Ave. were evacuated. They were allowed to return to their homes just before 9:00 PM . A large gas main was in danger of rupturing and PGW was called to the scene. Several of the homes will have no gas service. when the homeowners get home.
The Roosevelt Mall was ordered to be closed and cars snaked around to exit onto Bustleton Avenue. The Roosevelt Boulevard was a parking lot and emergency vehicles could not get through. This area is in the glide path for the airport.
Alex Lloyd Gross Photo-Delaware Valley News.com Firefighters try to control a house fire on Cottman Ave.
There is no word of how many people were on the plane. One person was seen exiting the wreckage on fire. Their condition is unknown. Several police officers were injured trying to rescue people.
Alex Lloyd Gross Photo- Delaware Valley News.com The wreckage along Cottman Avenue.
The area became a nightmare for police to control, with curiosity seekers trying to gain access to the scene. Firefighters had to contend with two houses on fire on Cottman Ave. It is unknown if anyone was inside the houses at the time of the crash.
There are reports of human remains found as far away as Wellington Street. The Macy’s store at the Roosevelt Mall is being used as a staging area. Police and federal officials will be looking for security footage of anyone that has a camera system that captured something. Some civilians were trying to capture the scene with unauthorized drones.
SEPTA buses were called to the scene to assist those residents that were displaced. They were staging at the Wendy’s about 9:00 PM.