Private jet with 8 aboard crashes at Maine airport after taking off in storm

Bangor, Maine — A private aircraft carrying eight people crashed on takeoff Sunday night at Maine’s Bangor International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The Bombardier Challenger 600 crashed around 7:45 p.m., and there was no immediate word on the conditions of those aboard. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

The crash occurred as New England and much of the country grappled with a massive winter storm. Bangor had undergone steady snowfall Sunday along with many other parts of the country.

There was no initial word on the plane’s destination.

The airport issued a statement that emergency crews were on the scene at the airport, which was closed after what it described as an incident involving a single aircraft departing the airport.

The airport urged people to avoid the area and said the crash led to the cancellation of other flights.

According to LiveATC.net, which broadcasts air traffic controllers’ conversations, there was talk among the tower and planes minutes before the crash about visibility, though it wasn’t clear which planes were involved.

Then, one controller was heard saying there was “a passenger aircraft upside down.” 

Bangor International Airport, some 200 miles north of Boston, offers direct flights to cities like Orlando, Florida, Washington, D.C., and Charlotte, North Carolina.

Throughout the weekend, the vast storm dumped sleet, freezing rain and snow across much of the eastern half of the U.S., halting much air and road traffic and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in the Southeast.

Commercial air traffic was also heavily disrupted around much of the U.S.

More than 11,000 flights were canceled Sunday and nearly 5,500 were delayed, according to the flight tracker flightaware.com. Airports in Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore, North Carolina, New York and New Jersey were among those impacted.

The Bombardier Challenger 600 is a wide-bodied business jet configured for 9 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 aircharterservice.com.

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