Philadelphia plane crash: All six on board medical transport jet killed

A young girl who had been in the US for medical care and her mother were being flown back home

Smoke rises after a small plane crashed in Philadelphia on Friday. AP

A small plane carrying six people crashed near a shopping mall in Philadelphia, marking another US aviation disaster after a passenger plane and a military helicopter collided midair in Washington earlier this week.

A young girl who had been in the US for medical care, her mother, and members of the flight and medical crews accompanying her onboard were killed in the crash, the children's hospital that treated her told AFP.

"The patient had received care from Shriners Children's Philadelphia and was being transported back to her home country in Mexico on a contracted air ambulance when the crash happened," said Mel Bower, a spokesman for Shriners Children's.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, citing police, said the crash took place shortly after 6pm near the Roosevelt Mall in north-east Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

At least one house and several cars were on fire, the newspaper reported. The weather was cold and rainy and with low visibility at the time of the crash.

The crash follows this week's collision of an American Airlines jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter over Washington, which resulted in 67 deaths. It was the deadliest aeroplane crash in the US since 2009.

The Philadelphia CBS affiliate showed images of a large fire and several fire engines at the scene of the crash. It said the status of victims was not immediately known. The station reported two people were aboard the plane.

The Philadelphia Fox news outlet reported that six people were aboard the plane.

The Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management confirmed on social media that there was a “major incident” in the area of the reported crash, but provided no other details.

Neither the Philadelphia police department nor the fire department immediately responded to requests for comment.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro wrote on social media, “We are offering all Commonwealth resources” as first responders work at the scene of the crash.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote on social media that he was monitoring the situation and working to get more information.