3 people still in critical condition after Philadelphia plane crash

Five people who were injured in Friday’s plane crash in Philadelphia remained in hospital Sunday, and three of them are in critical condition, according to city officials. Meanwhile, federal investigators recovered one of the black boxes.

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said at a briefing that 22 people are known to have been injured in Friday’s crash, which killed all six people on board the plane, as well as one person on the ground.

Parker said five of those injured remain in hospital, including a 10-year-old boy who was struck in the head by a piece of metal while sitting in a car with his family.

Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is continuing to investigate the cause of the deadly plane crash. One of the black boxes, the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), was found at the site of the initial impact, at a depth of 8 feet.

“NTSB investigators also recovered the airplane’s enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS), which could also contain flight data,” the NTSB said in an update. There was no word on the other black box, the flight data recorder (FDR).

Both the CVR and the EGPWS will be sent to the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory in Washington, D.C. for further evaluation. Other wreckage, including both engines, will be sent to a secure location in Delaware.

Friday’s accident happened just after 6 p.m. when a medical plane, a Learjet 55, crashed near Roosevelt Mall, setting cars and nearby homes on fire. It happened as the plane was taking off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport for a flight to Mexico, with a stop in Missouri.

The jet, which was operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, was carrying an 11-year-old girl who had completed months-long, life-saving treatment at Shriners Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia. Her mother and four crew members were also on board.