Terrifying footage has captured the moment a man eating in a restaurant was struck in the head by flying debris from the Philadelphia plane crash.
At 6:30pm local time on Friday (31 January) a small aircraft carrying six people crashed into the ground in the US city, killing everyone onboard.
It has since been confirmed the plane was a Medevac flight carrying a young girl and her mother alongside four crew members, all of them Mexican nationals. The flight was bound for the city of Tijuana via a stopover in Springfield, Missouri.
It is understood that the plane had been in air for just 30 seconds before crashing.
The aircraft was carrying six people when it crashed (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Footage depicting the horrifying aftermath has begun to circulate on social media, with one clip revealing that a man dining in a restaurant a quarter of a mile away from the crash site was struck in the head by flying debris.
The CCTV footage, which was originally published by 6abc Philadelphia, shows diners ducking for cover in Four Seasons Diner as projectiles fly into the cafe. One man appears to be hit in the head by something before collapsing sideways in the booth.
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6abc later confirmed that the man had suffered blood loss but wasn’t seriously injured in the incident.
“He was OK, but he was bleeding, a lot of blood on his head,” a member of staff told reporters.
Four Seasons manager Ayhan Tiryaki has since confirmed to The New York Post that everyone inside the cafe was ‘pretty shaken’ but otherwise OK.
“The one customer was hit in the head with a piece of metal and he was taken to the hospital in an ambulance,” he said.
“We don’t know exactly how he is but we hope he’ll be OK.”
No one else in the restaurant is believed to have been hit by flying debris.
The unnamed man was hit in the head by flying debris (6abc Philadelphia)
One person on the ground has since been confirmed to have passed away, while 19 others have been injured. However, this is a figure which could still rise, as Philadelphia city managing director Adam Thiel confirmed in a press conference (via BBC) that it could take days until authorities are able to confirm ‘the number of folks who perished in this tragedy and the outcome of those who were injured’.
Updated 10:48 1 Feb 2025 GMTPublished 10:49 1 Feb 2025 GMT
Philadelphia plane crash operator gave chilling statement after disaster as all onboard feared dead
Six people were on board the plane which crashed about 30 seconds after take-off
A plane that took off from Philadelphia last night (31 January) crashed around 30 seconds after take-off, with footage from cameras in the area showing a large fireball.
Six people were on board the plane, a child from Mexico who had been receiving treatment for a life threatening condition, her mother and four crew members.
The plane, a Learjet 55, had been departing Philadelphia and heading for Missouri before it was scheduled to reach its eventual destination of Tijuana.
The plane crashed at about 6:30pm local time. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
In a short but clear statement, a spokesperson for flight operator Jet Rescue Air Ambulance said: “We cannot confirm any survivors.”
“When an incident like this happens, it’s shocking and surprising,” the spokesperson said further.
“All of the aircraft are maintained, not a penny is spared because we know our mission is so critical.”
Jet Rescue Air Ambulance is based in Mexico and operates air ambulance services there and in the US.
Whether there are any survivors from those on board the plane is unclear as of yet.
Footage taken from people’s dashcams and doorbells showed the jet plummeting to the ground shortly after take-off before it exploded when it impacted with a city street.