AOPA's Air Safety Institute Releases Early Analysis Video on Learjet Medevac Crash in Philadelphia

On January 31, 2025, a Learjet 55 Medevac crashed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, shortly after takeoff from Northeast Philadelphia Airport. Sadly, all six occupants on board the aircraft perished in the accident in addition to one person killed and 22 people injured on the ground.

“In Early Analysis: Learjet 55 Medevac Crash in Philadelphia, PA, ASI looks at factors that are expected to be subject of the National Transportation Safety Board investigation. We want to help general aviation pilots understand what is known about the accident and what we can learn from this tragedy to fly safer," said AOPA’s ASI Senior Vice President Mike Ginter.

Ginter continued, “The medevac flight had departed from Runway 24 heading to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Springfield, Missouri. We don’t know what caused the aircraft to lose control during the climb in IFR conditions. However, the cockpit voice recorder was recovered from the wreckage and can hopefully shed more light as to what happened during the climb. The NTSB will likely look at human factors that could have affected the pilots, if the weather played a role, and potential aircraft system malfunction.”

“It’s important to recognize that general aviation accident trends show that loss of control causes 42 percent of all fatal accidents, while system component failure non-powerplant accounts for five percent of fatal accidents. So, it is imperative for pilots to review and brief handling emergencies after takeoff and ensure positive aircraft control, especially when flying at night into an overcast,” Ginter concluded.

Early Analysis videos provide an initial assessment of prominent mishaps that generate large public interest and may indicate important safety lessons for the general aviation community.

View the video here.

View other Early Analysis videos here.