Philly plane crash: Crater from deadly Northeast Philadelphia plane crash has been filled in
Philly Plane Crash: Crater from deadly medevac plane crash filled in
An eight-foot-deep crater left behind by from a medevac plane crash in North Philadelphia was filled in. Seven people, including six aboard the plane, were killed and dozens more were injured. Investigators are unsure what caused the Learjet to plummet from the sky less than a minute after takeoff.
PHILADELPHIA - An eight-foot-deep crater that marked the spot where a medevac plane crashed into the ground, killing seven people and injuring dozens more, was filled in.
The crater consumed part of the parking lot and sidewalk outside Roosevelt Mall in North Philadelphia and was a critical part of the on-scene investigation.
The cockpit voice recorder from the doomed Learjet was found at the bottom of the crater days after the deadly crash and is now being analyzed in Washington.
What we know:
Seven people, including a pediatric child and her mother, were killed when a Learjet with six aboard crashed and exploded in North Philadelphia on Friday.
Investigators are unsure what caused the Learjet to crash less than a minute after takeoff on its way to Missouri.
The crash erupted into a fireball that consumed nearby parked cars and damaged homes and businesses. One person on the ground was killed in the crash.
Investigators discovered the cockpit voice recorder while sifting through the wreckage in the days after the deadly crash.
They hope the device will reveal crucial information about what caused the plane to plummet from the sky
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 six 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 don't know:
Officials haven't speculated about how the plane fell from the sky, but the NTSB says they recovered a cockpit voice recorder that could shed light on what happened.
"If you look at the impact, and how deep that crater is, it was a very steep angle at which that aircraft came down," Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said.