In a tragic incident earlier this year, a medical transport plane crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood, resulting in the deaths of seven people. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a preliminary report revealing that the cockpit voice recorder aboard the plane was non-functional and likely hadn’t been working for years. No distress calls were made by the crew to air traffic control, and a ground warning system containing potential flight data is still under evaluation by its manufacturer.
The Learjet 55, having taken off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport on January 31, crashed within a minute, turning into a fireball that devastated a residential and commercial area. The crash killed all six people on board and one person in a vehicle on the ground. Additionally, over two dozen individuals were injured, including a young boy who was hit by debris while attempting to protect his sister.
Jim Hall, a former NTSB Chairman, expressed concern over the non-functioning cockpit voice recorder, emphasizing the loss of pivotal information crucial for understanding what went wrong. He pointed out that the unexpected nature of the emergency likely prevented the crew from communicating with air traffic control.
Among the plane’s passengers was an 11-year-old girl receiving treatment at Shriners Children’s Philadelphia hospital. The aircraft operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance was transporting Valentina Guzmán Murillo and her mother, Lizeth Murillo Osuna, back to Mexico. Jet Rescue identified its deceased team members as Dr. Raul Meza Arredondo, Captain Alan Montoya Perales, First Officer Josue de Jesus Juarez Juarez, and Paramedic Rodrigo Lopez Padilla, all Mexican nationals.
According to the NTSB report, the cockpit voice recorder, heavily damaged and exposed to liquids, was recovered eight feet underground. After a thorough cleaning, investigators found that the 30-minute tape was devoid of any flight audio.
The crash resulted in the destruction or severe damage of numerous homes and businesses, dispersing debris over an area nearly 500 yards long and 300 yards wide. Despite the challenges posed by the loss of cockpit recordings, former NTSB investigator Jeff Guzzetti noted that while this makes the agency’s work more complex, it is not an insurmountable hurdle. He pointed out that the cockpit voice recorder should have undergone regular inspections.
Guzzetti, who led the investigation into John F. Kennedy Jr.’s fatal crash, theorized that the Philadelphia incident might involve a case of pilot spatial disorientation, a condition wherein pilots lose their bearings and make erratic maneuvers trying to get back on course.
This devastating crash resulted in legal actions being initiated by several of the ground victims, including a man who endured 11 days in a burn unit after his vehicle was engulfed in flames from the jet fuel.
Occurring amidst a spate of aviation incidents, including a collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter just two days earlier in Washington, D.C.—the deadliest U.S. air accident in a generation—this crash has heightened concerns about air travel safety.
Voice recorder in med plane may have been faulty for years
