Philadelphia Plane Crash: Details and Aftermath
A plane bound for Mexico took off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport at 6:10 p.m. on Jan. 31 but crashed at the intersection of Cottman Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard near Roosevelt Mall. Originally scheduled to land in Missouri, the crash left at least 19 people injured, according to Mayor Cherelle Parker. Fifteen individuals were treated at Jefferson Health, while Temple University Hospital also cared for multiple victims, including a child transferred to St. Christopher’s Hospital.The crash triggered a massive fire, engulfing vehicles, buildings, and people. Five buildings were affected before firefighters extinguished the blaze. Investigators are now assessing structural damage and ensuring safety in the area.
School Bus Driver: ‘The Entire Sky Lit Up’
Christopher Andro, a school bus driver living in Southampton, about a 30-minute drive north of the crash site, recounted his experience on the night of the crash as he drove home after helping his cousin fix a tire.“Coming up on northbound on the Boulevard. I was passing, I was coming up with Tyson. I just turned right on purpose, and all suddenly seen the explosion,” Andro told The Epoch Times.
Andro was wearing headphones but wasn’t playing music, allowing him to hear his surroundings.
“I took them off. And I was just in shock, ‘What is that?’” he recalled thinking.
He felt the impact of the explosion.
“I was blown away. I did feel a little shock wave. And I think the explosion starts to form in the mushroom cloud. You can see the shaking. I felt a little bit in my chest, and I was pretty far. The whole sky lit up from over there. It was crazy,” he said
Andro’s dashcam recorded footage of the plane crashing and exploding.
Revisiting the Scene
“I just thought it was maybe, like an explosion,” Andro said, recalling the incident. “I have to check it out. I was just curious; Curiosity killed the cat. I wanted to help, too. So as soon as I saw what was going on, I was asking questions. Some people said that they saw a helicopter. Some said it was a plane. Turned out it was a plane, but, and then some people thought it was an oxygen center. So, they thought maybe that blew up because you saw the oxygen tanks. But turned out that they had some oxygen on board the aircraft. That was insane.”After stepping out of his vehicle, Andro noticed a distinct smell he had never experienced before.
“It turned out I didn’t recognize the smell because I never smelled burning jet fuel. That’s what it was. They said it was burning jet fuel,” he stated.
First Responders Arrive, Neighbors Help
Andro said that when he approached the scene, police were already there and blocking everything off. He was impressed with the swift response of the police.“By the time I turned around, police had locked down the entire area in about a minute and a half—at least 12 police cars had arrived. I was like, ‘Wow, that was fast,’” said Andro.
He said he parked his car at the McDonald’s on Cottman Avenue and started recording video. He then noticed an oxygen tank on the street corner that was missing some parts. Later, he learned that a piece of debris had been launched from the explosion, hitting a utility pole and ricocheting into the restaurant, shattering a window and striking an elderly man in the head.
“That piece was about maybe two pounds, so it had some heft [when it] hit him in the right side,” Andro said.
Andro entered the Four Seasons Diner, where the elderly man had been injured, to help.
“When I got there, there was blood on the ground and on the table, they had a bunch of napkins full of blood, and it was dried up at that point,” Andro said. ”But he said he was fine. Everyone was making jokes, saying that he had a hard head. I’m just glad he was okay. He seemed fine. He didn’t seem like he was concussed.”
Andro also mentioned that police requested the broken window remain untouched as it was part of the investigation.
“I told him, cut up a cardboard piece and then just tape it around,” he said.
Andro stayed in the restaurant and saw several elderly women who were terrified.
“I reassured them, telling them it would be okay,” he said.
He recalled an elderly couple in the restaurant, with the husband relying on an oxygen tank.
A Wake-Up Call
Nearby resident Nina Bruno said she heard the plane fly over before it crashed and had sensed something was wrong.“When it comes from the airport, it goes towards my neighborhood, and I can hear was like, too loud. This is too low,” Bruno told The Epoch Times.
“And I heard the plane, but I didn’t hear, I didn’t hear like it was fine, a little too low, you know when you hear it roll out. So, I was kind of concerned about that. A few minutes later, I went outside, and I saw the helicopters, and I had a feeling something happened to the plane,” she said.
Bruno stayed home after the crash. “I stayed home because I know it’s not safe to go there, but I was watching the news and everything was sad,” she said.
She described her emotions as heavy.
“Very sad. It’s very tragic and scary, too. I mean, a lot of these people, they were running for their lives. And some people were saying there were a couple of people on fire. It was just pretty tragic, very tragic,” she said.
Bruno urged people to remain vigilant and expressed hope that such a tragedy never happens again.
“When it’s in your neighborhood, it’s very scary. It happened. It could happen anywhere,” she said.
“I feel sorry for the people that you know suffered, and the people on the plane, too.”
