Seven killed and one injured after private jet crash in Maine during winter storm | Maine
Seven people were killed and a crew member survived with serious injuries when a private business jet crashed in a snowstorm at Maine’s Bangor international airport, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says.
The Bombardier Challenger 600 carrying eight people crashed on takeoff at about 7.45pm on Sunday night as Bangor, the rest of the New England region, and much of the country grappled with a deadly, massive winter storm. The airport, about 200 miles (320km) north of Boston, shut down after the crash.
Snowfall was heavy at the time in many other parts of the country, but accumulation had just started in Bangor and other planes had been taking off safely.
The jet was registered to a corporation that shares the same address in Houston, Texas, as the personal injury law firm Arnold & Itkin Trial Lawyers. And one of the law firm’s founding partners is listed as the registered agent for the company that owns the plane.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating. The NTSB said preliminary information shows the plane crashed upon departure and experienced a post-crash fire, but that it would have no further statement until after investigators arrive in a day or two.
The NTSB said it has no role in the release of information about victims and that such information is handled by local authorities. But airport director Jose Saavedra refused to comment, saying at a news conference on Monday that he was “awaiting guidance and support from federal partners”.
An audio recording of air traffic controllers includes someone saying: “Aircraft upside down. We have a passenger aircraft upside down.” That was about 45 seconds after a plane was cleared for takeoff. First responders arrived less than a minute later, Saavedra said.
Bangor international airport offers direct flights to cities such as Orlando, Florida; Washington DC; and Charlotte, North Carolina. It was expected to remain closed until at least noon on Wednesday.
The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Caribou, Maine, said the airport received nearly 10in (25cm) of snow in total, though the snowfall was just starting to pick up at the time of the crash. About a tenth of an inch of snow fell between midnight and 7pm on Sunday, and snowfall was light but steady at the time, the service said.
“We have crews on site that respond to weather storms on a regular basis,” Saavedra said. “This is normal for us to respond to weather events.”
Throughout the weekend, the vast storm dumped sleet, freezing rain and snow across much of the eastern half of the US, halting much air and road traffic and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in the south-east. At least 15 people were reported dead from the conditions, including in Texas, New York City, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Louisiana and Kansas.
Commercial air traffic was also heavily disrupted around much of the US. Nearly 12,000 US flights were canceled on Sunday and nearly more than 6,000 were delayed, according to the flight tracker FlightAware.com. Airports in Philadelphia, Washington DC, Baltimore, North Carolina, New York and New Jersey were among those affected.
The Bombardier Challenger 600 is a wide-bodied business jet configured for nine to 11 passengers. It was launched in 1980 as the first private jet with a “walk-about cabin” and remains a popular charter option, according to aircharterserviceusa.com.
The airport in Bangor is by far the largest in Maine’s northern and eastern reaches. Its longstanding joint use agreement with the Maine air national guard means “runways are ready rain or shine – or snow,” an airport website says, under the phrase: “A Little Snow Doesn’t Scare Us.”
