Troubling News On Philadelphia Jet Crash

{{ The jet was on a medical transport trip, heading to Tijuana, Mexico, with a short stop-over in Missouri. It was carrying a child patient and her mother, along with two pilots, a doctor and paramedic. They were all Mexican nationals. }}

Will we need to inspect all Mexican aircraft to insure safety and airworthiness?

intercst

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The safety of Mexican trucks has been a hot issue for years. The “JCs” cry a river about the lack of non-union USians willing to drive for what they are willing to pay, so there has been a push, for years, to use Mexican trucks and drivers. The pushback has been questions about the safety standards of Mexican trucks.

Of course the other question about that crash is why was it cost effective to fly those people to Mexico for treatment, vs being treated in the US? Yes, we know why, but a lot of people don’t want to hear how they are gouged by the US system.

Steve

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“The girl being transported to Mexico had just finished medical treatment for a life-threatening illness at Shriners Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia.“

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iirc, Shriner’s is free.

Steve

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Shriner’s is free. I expect that the Learjet medical transport is not. These were likely pretty wealthy Mexicans.

What are your odds of getting a “Learjet medical transport” from a United Healthcare Medicare Advantage plan? If they authorized any transportation, it would be in a 28" pitch seat on Spirit Airlines.

intercst

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I agree. It would be hard to imagine the Mexican health system paying for the flight.

Steve

Absolutely not a chance.

What is the “troubling news” other than the crash itself?

DB2

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Re: medical air transport

In St Louis we have Wings of Hope. They do exactly that. Volunteers fly the needy to medical sites. They own the aircraft and fly mostly up to 800 mi but via alliances have international reach.

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How about waiting for the NTSB report before speculating? There’s a real possibility that the problem was pilot disorientation in fog and 400 foot ceilings.

Wendy

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From your mouth to the White Houses ears. This is the leader of the country.

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Now you’re looking at Mexican pilot error or lack of training. You get an up-to-the minute weather report from the tower just before takeoff if conditions have changed. If the pilot or aircraft was not able to handle a 400 ft ceiling, he should have taxied back to the terminal rather than taking off.

You can’t get a license to fly in bad weather (i.e., Instrument Rating) until you have demonstrated the ability to fly in the clouds and fog without disorientation.

intercst

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Mexican airline Aeromexico had the world’s best record for on-time arrivals in 2024
…Aeromexico is a Mexican airline that flies to destinations in the United States. Grupo Aeromexico transports over two million passenger annually. They haven’t had a significant crash with loss of life since the 80s

So, are you just talking about Medivac flights?

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Yes. Scheduled foreign airlines that operate in the US have to be approved by the FAA and are subject to the same standards and inspections as a US airline. Every once and a while you’ll see a foreign carrier banned from US airspace because of shortcomings in their operations.

There’s a much lower standard of regulation for “unscheduled charter operations” which is what a Medivac flight would be.

Ironically, inexperienced Private Pilots get the least regulation. For example, an airline will have a “minimum take off ceiling” based on the capability of their aircraft and training of their pilots for every airport they operate from. The plane could be more capable than the pilots because the airline elected to save money and not train their pilots in the operation of a “zero minimums” landing system.

There is no minimum take off ceiling on private aircraft operations (Part 91). If you’re foolhardy enough to take off into a thick fog at ground level, it’s not illegal. Just inadvisable.

intercst

Now, the SecDOT weighs in, blames a vector of DEI.

Transport Secretary Sean Duffy claims ‘changing cockpit to flight deck’ undermined safety

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Theoretically, that’s true. Are there no weather-related IFR accidents by IFR-rated pilots?

In the wise words of Yogi Berra, “In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they’re not.”

In theory, only IFR-rated pilots should fly in IFR weather because, by definition, VFR pilots would be sitting on the ground.

I’m not saying that the Philadelphia crash was caused by disorientation in IFR weather…I’m saying it might have been so wait for those who actually KNOW.

Wendy