Overview

• The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed the cockpit voice recorder on the medical transport Learjet 55 was not functioning and likely had been inoperative for years.
• The plane crashed into a residential and commercial area shortly after takeoff from Northeast Philadelphia Airport on January 31, killing all six onboard and one person on the ground.
• The crash caused a massive fireball, destroyed or damaged over a dozen homes and businesses, and left at least 24 people injured, including a severely burned 9-year-old boy.
• Investigators recovered the voice recorder and ground warning system but found no audio from the flight, with the debris field spanning over 1,400 feet in length.
• This incident follows a series of recent aviation disasters, raising concerns about flight safety, though the NTSB has not yet determined the cause of the crash.