International
oi-Amit Vasudev
A
small
aircraft
crashed
and
ignited
a
large
fire
in
a
Philadelphia
neighbourhood
on
Friday,
according
to
AFP,
citing
local
media
reports.
The
plane,
which
was
carrying
at
least
two
people,
went
down
near
a
shopping
centre,
causing
multiple
casualties
on
the
ground,
Reuters
reported.
Aircraft
Crashes
Near
Philadelphia
The
Philadelphia
Office
of
Emergency
Management
confirmed
on
social
media
that
a
“major
incident” had
occurred
in
the
area
but
did
not
provide
further
details.
“Major
incident
near
Cottman
and
Bustleton
Avenues
in
Northeast
Philadelphia,
opposite
Roosevelt
Mall.
Roads
in
the
area,
including
parts
of
Roosevelt
Boulevard,
are
closed.
Avoid
the
area,” the
city’s
emergency
management
office
posted
on
X.
Images
shared
on
social
media
showed
the
aircraft
had
crashed
close
to
a
row
of
houses,
with
numerous
firefighters
and
emergency
responders
at
the
scene.
According
to
the
Associated
Press,
flight
data
indicated
that
a
small
jet
departed
the
airport
at
6:06
pm
(local
time)
and
disappeared
from
radar
approximately
30
seconds
later,
after
reaching
an
altitude
of
1,600
feet.
The
crash
site
is
roughly
4.8
kilometres
from
Northeast
Philadelphia
Airport,
which
mainly
serves
business
jets
and
charter
flights.
A
local
resident
told
AP
that
he
heard
a
loud
explosion
and
felt
his
house
shake.
“There
was
a
huge
blast,
and
for
a
moment,
I
thought
we
were
under
attack,” he
said.
The
incident
comes
just
days
after
a
passenger
jet
collided
with
an
Army
helicopter
while
approaching
Ronald
Reagan
National
Airport
near
Washington,
DC.
All
64
passengers
on
board
the
jet,
as
well
as
the
three
people
in
the
helicopter,
lost
their
lives
in
what
became
the
deadliest
air
crash
in
the
United
States
in
over
two
decades.
The
collision
took
place
in
heavily
congested
airspace
near
the
US
capital,
an
area
frequently
traversed
by
low-flying
commercial
aircraft
and
military
helicopters.
The
accident
has
also
raised
concerns
about
how
a
passenger
plane,
equipped
with
modern
collision-avoidance
technology,
could
crash
into
a
military
aircraft
in
such
a
busy
airspace.
