Photos of charred black box released after Philadelphia plane crash; probe continues

The cockpit voice recorder from the air ambulance crash that killed seven people and injured more than 20 others in Philadelphia last week has been recovered, and pictures released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) show the now-charred box.

On Sunday, the NTSB announced it recovered the cockpit voice recorder 8 feet deep at the crash site. Pictures shared on X by the government agency on Tuesday show the virtually unrecognizable device that is used to record sounds and radio transmissions to help investigators reconstruct the events that led to an aircraft accident.

Upon finding the so-called black box, investigators also discovered the destroyed Learjet 55's enhanced ground proximity warning system, which could contain flight data, the NTSB said.

"Both components will be sent to the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory in Washington, D.C. for evaluation," the NTSB said in a statement on Sunday. "Wreckage recovery continues tomorrow and all of the wreckage will be sent to a secure location in Delaware for further examination."

What happened in the Philadelphia plane crash?

The Jet Rescue Air Ambulance departed from Northeast Philadelphia Airport around 6:30 p.m. and quickly nosedived, slamming into the ground below at about 300 mph, according to initial reports.

The flight was bound for Branson, Missouri, before heading to its final destination in Mexico, investigators said.

"We know Philadelphia will recover from this tragedy," Mayor Cherelle Parker said during a news conference immediately after the crash. "We are in Northeast where people are Northeast strong."

The crash caused an explosion in Northeast Philadelphia, with many residents taking video and pictures of the wreckage.

Air ambulance passengers, flight crew identified

While Philadelphia recovers, the families of the six people aboard the plane ? a pilot and copilot, two medical personnel, a patient and her mother ?mourn. An unidentified individual in a car on the ground was also killed, according to local authorities.

Claudia Agatón Mu?iz, the mayor of Ensenada, Mexico, posted information on Facebook identifying the pediatric patient as resident Valentina Guzmán Murillo and her mother, Lizeth Murillo Osuna. Mu?iz said the city would help return the bodies to family members in Ensenada.

Valentina was 11 years old, while her mother was 31, César Esparza, a family friend whose daughter was classmates with Valentina, told The New York Times. Esparza said Valentina had been receiving treatment at Shriners Children’s in Philadelphia since the end of August for multiple medical issues stemming from an undisclosed spinal condition.

Jet Rescue identified the pilots and medical crew aboard the Learjet on Sunday as Capt. Alan Alejandro Montoya Perales, copilot Josue de Jesus Juarez Juarez, Dr. Raul Meza Arredondo and paramedic Rodrigo Lopez Padilla.

The investigation into the crash is "fluid and active," according to Parker. The incident occurred two days after an American Airlines passenger plane and an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided in the skies near Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, killing 64 people on the aircraft and three aboard the chopper.

Contributing: John Bacon, JD Mullane and Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Philadelphia plane crash: Photos of charred black box released by NTSB