Lawsuit says ‘carelessness’ and ‘negligence’ were to blame for January plane crash that killed 8 in Northeast Philly

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The families of two people who were on a medical jet that crashed in Northeast Philadelphia earlier this year — killing eight people and devastating the neighborhood — have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit alleging “carelessness” and “negligence” by the plane’s owner.

The motion was filed on behalf of Raul Meza Arredondo, a pediatrician onboard the aircraft, and Lizeth Murillo Osuna, who was traveling with her young daughter who was receiving treatment at Shriners Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia. It is against Med Jets, a Mexican air carrier that specializes in medical transport.

They were traveling from Philly to Tijuana, Mexico, when the jet crashed on Cottman Avenue less than a minute after takeoff, sending a massive fireball into the sky and creating a crater several feet deep.

Arredondo, Osuna and her 11-year-old daughter, Valentina Guzman Murillo, were killed instantly, along with the pilot, co-pilot and a paramedic — all of whom were from Mexico.

Dominique Goods-Burke and Steven Dreuitt, of Philadelphia, were also killed after their vehicle was engulfed in flames. An additional 20 people were hurt. City officials later said 343 homes were damaged or impacted by the crash.

The lawsuit alleges the “direct and proximate result of the carelessness, negligence, and recklessness” of the company led to the defendants’ deaths. It claims the company failed to “engage in regular and routine maintenance” of the over-40-year-old aircraft.

The jet’s flight recorder, or “black box,” did not record audio from the Jan. 31 crash — and was likely not working for several years, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The probable cause of the crash and any contributing factors will be released in the final report, which could take up to two years to complete.

The lawsuit also says Med Jets was at the center of an earlier, deadly crash, when a Learjet 35A owned by the company crashed under similar circumstances on Nov. 1, 2023, in Morales, Mexico.