Plane voice recorder failed to capture final moments of jet crash in Philadelphia neighborhood
The tragic plane crash that occurred in Philadelphia on January 31, 2025, left seven people dead, including two pilots, two crew members, an 11-year-old pediatric patient named Valentina Guzman Murillo and her mother, as well as a pedestrian on the ground. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently released a preliminary report on the crash of the medical Learjet 55 bound for Missouri.
The cockpit voice recorder, also known as the “black box,” from the crashed plane did not record the aircraft’s final moments, according to investigators. The NTSB revealed that the plane was in the air for less than a minute before it went down. Despite an extensive search, the voice recorder was found buried under eight feet of dirt and debris. Upon examination, it was determined that the recorder had not been recording audio for several years.
Valentina Guzman Murillo and her mother were in Philadelphia for medical treatment for spina bifida. The organization His Wings Ranch had been supporting the family for the past five years and had arranged for their trip back home before the tragic accident occurred.
The Learjet 55 took off from Philadelphia at 6:06 p.m. and was en route to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri. The flight made a slight right turn before turning left at an altitude of 1,650 feet. Despite being in communication with air traffic control, no distress call was received from the pilots. The plane ultimately struck a commercial sign during its descent, leaving behind a 1,400-foot debris field.
Investigators are now looking into the plane’s enhanced ground proximity warning system, which they believe may contain flight data in its nonvolatile memory. The system has been sent to the manufacturer to see if any data can be recovered from it.
The crash in Philadelphia created a devastating scene, with a fireball and shrapnel spreading through a residential neighborhood. More than a dozen people were injured as a result of the crash. The community mourns the loss of the victims and awaits further updates from the ongoing investigation into the cause of the tragic accident.
