Talking at a information convention on Saturday, Philadelphia metropolis managing director Adam Thiel stated it will in all probability be “days or extra” till officers are in a position to affirm “the variety of of us who perished on this tragedy and the end result of those that had been injured”.

He added that there’s nonetheless “numerous unknowns about who was the place” when the crash occurred.

The woman being transported to Mexico had simply completed medical therapy for a life-threatening sickness at Shriners Youngsters’s Hospital in Philadelphia.

Earlier on Friday, workers had thrown her a celebration to have a good time, hospital spokesman Mel Bower stated. He added that workers who handled her had been “impacted very deeply” by information of the tragedy.

The flight was sure for Springfield, Missouri for a brief stop-over, earlier than persevering with onto Tijuana.

The aircraft left Northeast Philadelphia Airport at about 18:07 native time (23:07 GMT) on Friday, rose to 1,500ft, turned barely proper, then barely left, then started a steep descent, Nationwide Transportation Security Board (NTSB) officers stated.

The crash occurred lower than 4 miles (6.4km) away. Flight logs present the aircraft was within the air “for less than a minute” earlier than it crashed, Mayor Parker stated.

No points had been reported from the aircraft to air visitors management, and controllers who tried to get a response from the flight crew didn’t obtain one, NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy stated.