Medevac plane with six on board crashes in Philadelphia, number of fatalities unknown

A medical transport jet with a child patient and five others aboard has crashed in Philadelphia shortly after take-off, exploding in a fireball that engulfed several homes.

Jet Rescue Air Ambulance said the patient and another passenger were on board along with four crew members.

"We cannot confirm any survivors," the company said in a statement.

"Our immediate concern is for the patient's family, our personnel, their families and other victims that may have been hurt on the ground."

Mayor Cherelle Parker said at a news conference that information on fatalities wasn't immediately known but several homes and vehicles had been damaged.

"This is still an active scene under investigation," she said.

The crash came just two days after the deadliest US air disaster in a generation.

On Wednesday night, an American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided in mid-air with an Army helicopter in Washington DC.

There were no survivors from that crash.

A doorbell camera in Philadelphia captured footage of the plane nosediving and exploding as it hit the ground near a shopping mall and major roadway.

"All we heard was a loud roar and didn’t know where it was coming from. We just turned around and saw the big plume," said Jim Quinn, the owner of the doorbell camera.

The crash happened less than four kilometres from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, which primarily serves business jets and charter flights.

The plane, a Learjet 55, quickly disappeared from radar after taking off from the airport at 6:06pm and climbing to an altitude of 1,600 feet (487 metres).

It was en route to Springfield, Missouri, and registered to a company operating as Med Jets, according to the flight tracking website Flight Aware.

President Donald Trump posted on social media platform Truth Social it was "so sad" to see the crash.

"More innocent souls lost," he said.

Governor Josh Shapiro said he is offering all "Commonwealth resources as they respond to the small private plane crash in Northeast Philly."

The plane crashed in a busy intersection near Roosevelt Mall, an outdoor shopping centre in the densely populated neighbourhood of Rhawnhurst.

The plane's owner, Jet Rescue, provides global air ambulance services.

The company, based in Mexico, flew baseball hall of famer David Ortiz to Boston after he was shot in the Dominican Republic in 2019 and was involved in transporting patients critically ill with COVID-19.

The FAA said the National Transportation Safety Board will lead an investigation.

The NTSB, which investigates air crashes, said it was gathering information about the crash.