November 18, 2025
Daniella Heminghaus/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The estates of two people killed by medical jet crash in Northeast Philadelphia last January have filed a wrongful death suit against Med Jets, the Mexican air carrier that operated the plane. Above, emergency crews at near the scene of the crash.
A lawsuit filed on behalf of two people killed in the medical jet crash in Northeast Philadelphia last January accuses the Mexican air ambulance carrier of failing to operate the plane safely.
The lawsuit was filed Monday by the estates of pediatrician Raul Meza Arredondo and Lizeth Murillo Osuna, who was traveling with her 11-year-old daughter, Valentina Guzman Murillo. They were heading home to Mexico following Valentina's successful treatment for a life-threatening medical condition at Shriner's Hospital when the Learjet 55 crashed shortly after takeoff on Jan. 31, killing all six people onboard and another two people on the ground. Another 24 people were injured, and 343 homes were damaged.
The lawsuit, filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, accuses Med Jets, based in Guadalajara, of acting with carelessness, negligence and recklessness. It claims the company failed to perform routine maintenance on the Leerjet 55, which was 40 years old, and points to a similar crash involving a Med Jets plane in November 2023 in Morales, Mexico.
The lawsuit also blames the aircraft's designers, manufacturers and inspectors, though they are not named in the suit.
"Today's filing is an important step on behalf of the victims of this tragedy to hold those responsible for this deadly crash fully accountable," lawyers representing the victims wrote, according to NBC10. "Unfortunately, given the lack of functioning onboard recording systems, much remains to be determined as to the cause of this crash. This litigation will help the victims get the answers as to why their loves ones senselessly died and why an entire community was placed in harm's way."
The Learjet 55 crashed near Cottman Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard at 6:07 p.m. on Jan. 31, about a minute after taking off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport. The flight was headed to Branson, Missouri, before its final stop in Mexico. A voice recorder on the plane was not functioning, and the crew made no distress calls, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB has not determined the cause of the crash.
