Video: House's doorbell camera captures Philadelphia plane crash, residents panic

A doorbell camera captured the exact moment an air ambulance with six people on board crashed in the US city of Philadelphia late Friday night, causing a massive explosion and setting several homes on fire in the vicinity.

In the video, a man is seen opening the door for a woman a few seconds before the impact. As he is holding the door open for the woman, a burning jet headed rapidly towards the ground could be spotted in the background.

After a second, the doorbell camera captures a huge ball of flame, alerting both the man and the woman as they rushed inside their house in panic.

"All we heard was a loud roar and we didn't know where it was coming from. We just turned around and saw the big plume," the owner of the camera, Jim Quinn was quoted as telling Action News.

At the time of the explosion, the air ambulance was carrying four crew members and a paediatric patient along with an escort, according to reports. All the six present inside the air ambulance were feared dead, according to reports.

The Missouri-bound Learjet 55 air ambulance crashed near the Roosevelt Mall in the Philadelphia neighbourhood shortly after taking off, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The FAA and the Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be jointly probing the incident, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced.

Expressing his condolences to the victims and their families, US President Donald Trump in a post on Truth Social, said, "So sad to see the plane go down in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More innocent souls lost. Our people are totally engaged. First Responders are already being given credit for doing a great job. More to follow. God Bless you all."

Local news outlets reported about several people being rushed to the hospital with burn injuries. The site of Friday's late night crash was only 5 kilometres away from the Philadelphia Airport.