There is an eerie silence on Cottman Avenue as Philadelphians try to process the unimaginable.
A deep crater in the road, debris and several burned-out vehicles mark the location where an air ambulance plummeted from the sky on Friday night.
It is densely populated, row after row of houses, all rocked by the impact, some scorched by the ensuing fireball.
John Dolan heard the plane coming down above his home and says people only survived “by the grace of God”.
“The amount of people at this intersection had to be a lot.
“People are backed up, waiting for this light here because of the traffic.
“People are heading home, it’s Friday night.
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“It is lined up with cars here. How they aren’t more people dead, I have no idea,” he said.
Joseph Maiorano was stopped at the red light when the plane came down less than one minute after taking off.
“Next thing I know, look to my left, and there’s this big boom…
“I felt the heat. There was like… a cloud of fire,” he recalled.
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A small team of community pastors were going door-to-door, offering support to people traumatised by the tragedy on their doorstep.
There were no survivors among the six people on the small plane – two passengers and four crew, all Mexican nationals.
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In a tragic twist of fate, the child patient on board was returning home after completing life-saving treatment in hospital.
One man died in a car, and at least 19 others were injured, including a child who has undergone emergency surgery.
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There is a palpable sense of shock and incredulity here, a disbelief shared across America.
With more air passengers per year than any other country, two fatal crashes in two days have stunned this nation.
