The last minutes before the US ambulance plane crashed to the ground

A recording of the communication released by LiveATC on January 31 shows the final exchange between an air traffic controller at Northeast Philadelphia Airport in Pennsylvania, USA, and the pilot of a Learjet 55 ambulance preparing to take off.

The Learjet 55 was carrying a child patient, his mother, and four crew members, including two pilots, one doctor, and one paramedic, back to Mexico after treatment in Philadelphia. The plane was scheduled to take off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, stopping to refuel at Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri, before heading to Tijuana, Mexico.

Northeast Philadelphia Airport air traffic controllers then requested Learjet 55, flight number 056, to turn right on the taxiway before departure and informed the pilot that he was cleared to take off on runway 24 in a northeast-southwest direction.

"Ambulance 056 contacted air traffic control upon departure on frequency 123.8 MHz," the air traffic controller said. The pilot contacted on frequency 123.8 MHz and said "Ambulance 056, thank you, have a nice day."

The plane took off at 18:06 on January 31. Air traffic control then made several attempts to contact the Learjet 55. One air traffic controller asked the pilots if they were still on 123.8 MHz, another asked if they were receiving ground contact.

However, the pilot of the Learjet 55 did not respond to air traffic control. According to flight tracking sites, the Learjet 55 climbed to an altitude of about 1,500 feet and remained airborne for about 30 seconds before losing contact.

“Approaching the runway. What’s going on down there?” the pilot of another plane asked air traffic controllers after the Learjet 55 lost contact.

"We have lost contact with an aircraft. We are not sure what happened and are trying to find out. The airport will be closed and there will be no flights arriving or departing," the ground staff replied.

Air traffic control then ordered all flights to and from Northeast Philadelphia Airport to be stopped.

The Learjet 55 was airborne for less than 30 seconds before crashing almost nose-first into the Roosevelt Mall at the intersection of Roosevelt Avenue and Cottman Avenue, about 3 miles from Northeast Philadelphia Airport. All six people on board were confirmed dead.

The accident occurred two days after a PSA Airlines CRJ700 crashed into a UH-60 helicopter belonging to the US Army at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, south of Washington, DC. The wreckage of both aircraft fell into the Potomac River, killing all 64 people on the CRJ700 and 3 soldiers on the helicopter.