Repairs begin on Cottman Avenue after deadly medical jet crash in Northeast Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- It's been nearly three weeks since a medical jet crashed in Northeast Philadelphia, killing seven people and injuring more than two dozen others.

On Monday, PennDOT crews started working to fill the 8-foot crater left behind on that stretch of Cottman Avenue.

Gregory Ott also returned to take another look at the damage. His real estate business was located directly across the street from where the plane went down. He says his employees had left just for the day.

"My first thoughts were, 'Is everybody safe in my building?' Because we were open until 6 o'clock that night and the plane crashed around 6:09 p.m. I checked my cameras and everybody had left around 6:04 p.m. So, we were blessed that way," said Ott.

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As he waits to find out if his building will need to be demolished, Ott gave Action News an exclusive look at the damage.

"We are waiting for a structural engineer to come out and give me the go-ahead, what direction we are going to take to condemn the building and tear it down, or try to do an interior demo," he explained.

Ott also says there are no words to describe what it was like that night as he rushed back after hearing what happened.

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"With the four cars in front of my building that were on fire, it's just shocking," he said.

Ott also owns a neighboring insurance business, which mostly endured water damage from the firefighting effort. He says the business should return to that location in about two months.

But it'll be about a year before the real estate business returns.

In the meantime, the right westbound lane of Cottman Avenue near the crash site will remain closed for the duration.

PennDOT is optimistic the repair work will be completed by the end of the week.