PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The site where a medical transport jet crashed on Cottman Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia is still closed off, but those who work in the response zone, including at the Roosevelt Mall, were given the green light to return to the area to check on their properties.
Business owners and their employees were able to get to their workplaces on Monday for the first time since Friday’s deadly crash, which killed six people aboard the plane and one person on the ground, and injured two dozen others.
They were permitted, with a police escort, to check on the damage and retrieve any belongings that may have been left behind.
In addition to the businesses impacted by the fiery crash, nearly 350 residential properties were affected in some capacity, a city official said, ranging from minor issues to the handful of homes that were destroyed.
Mayor Cherelle Parker was asked on Monday about her thoughts after watching graphic surveillance video of the crash. She was grateful that an even bigger catastrophe was avoided.
“You think about what could have been had a gas line been hit,” she said. “I’m staying strong on my faith. I’m grateful to God.”
At the same press conference, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy pledged continuous support to Parker and Gov. Josh Shapiro, and all three shared high praise for each other, but there were no specifics given on potential federal funding.
There are numbers to crunch in terms of the damage, but Parker emphasized that all the help needed goes beyond dollars and cents.
“The social and emotional repair. That’s why you constantly keep hearing me refer to the importance of us acknowledging trauma and the impacts that a tragedy like this can have on the city,” she said.
Andre Howard was in his car with his 10-year-old son Trey during the crash.
“Just hear a loud bang and then a ball of fire. I turn around and he has metal out of the side of his head,” he said. The boy is now recovering from emergency brain surgery.
Mexican and American flags were placed side by side at the corner of Cottman and Bustleton avenues, surrounded by candles and flowers, to honor the victims. A vigil is planned for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the crash site.
A shelter remains open and available 24/7 at Samuel Fels High School. Mental health services are available through the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services. Residents can call 988 or go to dbhids.org.
The emergency town hall meeting where residents can get information and get connected to services will take place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Solis-Cohen elementary school, located at 7001 Horrocks St. in the Northeast.