Philadelphia plane crash debris flies through diner window, hitting customer in head
PHILADELPHIA - A diner near the plane crash site in Northeast Philadelphia has been evacuated after debris flew through one of the windows Friday evening.
Cardboard was seen taped up on a window at a restaurant on Cottman Avenue after a small metal piece believed to be from the plane that crashed near Roosevelt Mall flew through the glass and hit a patron in the head, FOX 29’s Steve Keeley said.
The Four Seasons Diner on Cottman Avenue is about half a mile from the crash site.
What happened?
Cardboard over a broken window after debris believed to be from a plane crash in Northeast Philadelphia, came smashing through. (CREDIT: FOX 29)
What we know:
A small plane carrying six people, including a pediatric patient, crashed at about 6:30 p.m. on Cottman Avenue and Bustleton Avenue.
The plane was a Jet Rescue Air Ambulance and was en route to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri, according to the FAA.
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The video above captures the moment a man was hit by a piece of the jet's debris that came through the diner’s window.
The staff tells FOX 29 the man is okay.
Keeley took a picture of what is believed to be the regulator from one of the jet's oxygen tank found outside thr McDonald's next door to the diner Friday night.
It hit the man in the diner in his head and knocked his hat off.
He and other customers stayed down so crawling behind the salad bar for safety, thinking gunfire came through the window until they learned moments later the jet crashed nearby.
Staff says he wiped some blood off his head and walked to an ambulance to be checked out after.
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Some of the police working around the clock at the scene, were among the customers coming back, as the Four Seasons is one of the fortunate first to reopen along Cottman Avenue since.
The Source: Information for this article was gathered from a live report at the scene of a plane crash in Northeast Philadelphia on Jan. 31, 2025, the Four Seasons Diner staff, and from additional reporting from Steve Keeley on Feb. 3, 2025.