Philly plane crash: NTSB says cockpit voice recorder did not capture doomed flight’s final moments

PHILADELPHIA – Federal investigators shared new updates on the deadly Northeast Philadelphia plane crash that left seven people dead and two dozen injured in January.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its preliminary report into the deadly Northeast Philadelphia plane crash on Thursday afternoon.

The report comes over a month after 11-year-old pediatric patient Valentina Guzman Murillo and her mother were among six aboard the doomed Learjet.

The crash caused a fireball and sent shrapnel flying through the Northeast Philadelphia community, causing deadly injuries to a man who was sitting in his car.

The backstory:

Seven people, including an 11-year-old patient and her mother, were killed when a medical plane headed to Missouri crashed in Northeast Philadelphia on Jan. 31.

Investigators say the plane was in the air for less than a minute when it fell from the sky and crashed near on Cottman Avenue near Roosevelt Mall.

The crash was captured by several cameras around the populated Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood and showed a massive explosion and fireball.

All six people aborad the plane, including four crew members, were killed. A 37-year-old man who was sitting in his car was the only person killed on the ground.

Four people were seriously injured, including a young boy who shielded his sister from debris, and 20 others were hurt.

Philly plane crash victims

Valentina Guzman Murillo, an 11-year-old who received life-saving treatment for Spina Bifida, and her mother, Lizeth Murillo Osuna, were aboard the doomed plane.

“The plan was to bring them home to live out the rest of her life surrounded with love and with her adoring family,” said Susan Marie Fasino of His Wings Ranch, the organization which has been assisting the family for the past 5 years.

Jet Rescue Air Ambulance identified the four member plane crew as Capt. Alan Alejandro Montoya Perales, co-pilot Josue de Jesus Juarez Juarez, Dr. Raul Meza Arredondo, paramedic Rodrigo Lopez Padilla.

Authorities identified the only person killed on the ground as 37-year-old Steven Dreuitt, who they say was in a car on Cottman Avenue when the crash happened.

Two dozen people on the ground were injured by fires and flying debris, including a 10-year-old boy who shielded his younger sister from shrapnel.

What we know:

The NTSB shared the findings of its preliminary investigation on Thursday, revealing new insights into the doomed flight that they say lasted about a minute.

The most notable piece of new information from their preliminary findings was that the cockpit voice recorder that was recovered from the ruble did not capture the flights final moments.

“The CVR did not record the accident flight and during the audition it was determined that the CVR had likely not been recording audio for several years,” the report read.

Investigators found that the Learjet 55 took off from Northeast Philadelphia airport at 6:06 p.m. with the intended destination of Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri. The flight, according to the report, traveled southwest and made a slight right before turning left at a peak altitude of 1,650 ft.

Investigators say the flight was in communication with air traffic control, and there was no distress call received from the four-man flight crew. It’s believed the plane struck a commercial sign during its decent and left behind a 1,400-foot-long debris field.

The plane’s Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System, which investigators believe “may contain flight data in its nonvolatile memory,” was shipped to the manufacturer to see if data can be recovered.

What’s next:

A virtual help session will occur on Wednesday, March 12 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. held by the Network of Neighbors, a program from the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services. 

For more information, email [email protected] or call 267-233-4837. 

What you can do:

As a reminder for residents and businesses impacted, the city says online and in-person resources are available as officials continue in their recovery.

Resources include the city’s 24/7 Recovery Helpline 215-586-3400, and the resource assistance location at the Neighborhood and Community Action Center located at 7374 Edmund Street, Philadelphia, PA 19136.