Patient, 11, and others ID’d in Philadelphia jet crash as investigators find black box buried 8 feet in ground at impact site
The young patient and five others killed when their plane crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood moments after takeoff Friday evening have been identified — as authorities made a disturbing discovery about the jet’s black box.
Valentina Guzman Murillo, 11, her mother, Lizeth Murillo Ozuna, 31, Capt. Alan Alejandro Montoya Perales, co-pilot Josue de Jesus Juarez Juarez, Dr. Raul Meza Arredondo and paramedic Rodrigo Lopez Padilla died in the Mexico-bound Learjet 55 aircraft crash, said the company operating the medical transport flight, Jet Rescue Air, to CBS News.
Valentina suffered from spina bifida and had just finished receiving treatment for such ailments as a pressure sore at?Shriners Children’s Hospital, according to a woman on Facebook who said she helped get the child to the US for the “desperately needed medical care.
“She had numerous health challenges and was very frail,” Susan Marie Fasino wrote in her heartbreaking post. “The plan was to bring [Valentina and her mom] home to live out the rest of [Valentina’s] life surrounded with love and with her adoring family.
“Her mother was one of the most adoring attentive mothers a child could ever have,” Fasino said.
“They lived every moment together and they entered eternity together.”
A relative said, “Our hearts are in pieces.
“With all the pain in the world and on behalf of my family, I want to thank you for each of your messages and calls,” wrote the kin, Fabi Guzman, on social media, according to The Sun.
“We are going through a very painful time,” Guzman said. “I ask for prayers and eternal rest for my girls.”
Hospital rep Mel Bower said, “It’s extremely hard and extremely difficult.
“Those that were involved directly in her care were very aware that she was going to be traveling home and there had actually been a sendoff for her.”
Mexico’s president has confirmed that all six victims onboard were Mexican citizens.
“I regret the death of six Mexicans in the plane crash in Philadelphia. The consular authorities are in permanent contact with the families,” President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote on X on Saturday morning.
The seventh person killed was in a car as debris from the Learjet 55 crash exploded into the neighborhood. This victim has not yet been identified.
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said in a press conference Sunday that 22 people were injured and that five remain hospitalized.
At least 11 homes and some businesses were also significantly?damaged, she said.
“Our city continues to mourn their loss, and they are in our thoughts are prayers,” Parker said of the deceased victims.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board said they recovered the black box — 8 feet in the ground — at the site of impact, NBC10 reported.
The aircraft’s “enhanced ground proximity warning system” has also been recovered.
The black box and EGPWS will be sent to Washington, DC, for evaluation and could contain critical flight data.
The NTSB is leading the crash investigation with assistance from the Federal Aviation Administration and other local agencies.
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Parker added that officials were going door to door to seek information from neighborhood residents.
“The situation is fluid, and it is active,” Parker said.
The Mexico-bound air ambulance had reached about 1,500 feet less than a minute after takeoff from Northeast Philadelphia Airport when it plummeted and crashed at Roosevelt Boulevard and Cottman Avenue just after 6 p.m.
Drone footage posted online Saturday morning gave a bird’s-eye view of the devastating scene.
The aftermath resembled “a horror movie,” shocked locals told The Post.
NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy called it a “high-impact crash” that left the plane “highly fragmented.”
The crash scene spanned at least four to six blocks, and authorities were working to assess the damage, including going house to house to inspect the dwellings, Philadelphia managing director Adam Thiel said during Sunday’s press conference.
Jet Rescue Air released three photos of the plane’s interior following the crash, showing the flight was equipped like a “flying ICU.”
“Those are the pics of the actual aircraft’s interior,” a spokesperson for the company told Fox News. “You can see its setup. We call it ‘flying ICU setting.’”
The jet was scheduled to stop at Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri before reaching Mexico.