A private twin-engine turbo-fan Bombardier Challenger 600 aircraft, carrying eight people, crashed during take-off at Bangor International Airport (BGR) in Maine, USA, on Sunday evening, Jan. 25, local time.
The fate of the aircraft and the identities of the passengers are not yet known.
The incident occurred around 7:45 p.m. local time (12:45 a.m. UTC) amidst a powerful winter storm affecting much of the eastern United States, which brought poor visibility.
Crash details and emergency response
Reports from a government official indicated the aircraft was engulfed in a substantial fire and ended up upside down after the crash.
Light snow had started falling at Bangor International Airport two hours before the crash took place, with conditions quickly worsening, but there was no explicit indication from the authorities that the weather played a role in the crash.
According to weather reports from when the crash happened, visibility was around three-fourths of a mile with a low ceiling of 1,100 feet and a temperature around 2 to 3 degrees Fahrenheit (around minus 16 degrees Celsius) with sustained winds of about 5 to 10 mph from the northeastern United States.
Audio from the air traffic controller captured discussions about poor visibility and the need for de-icing before an urgent message halted all traffic on the airfield.
Following the crash, Bangor International Airport was shut down to all flights as emergency services responded to the scene at 10:30 p.m. local time.
Airport officials have asked the public to avoid the area and encouraged passengers to contact their airline regarding the impact on their travel plans.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it plans to investigate the crash along with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Aircraft, airport background and weather context
The Bombardier Challenger 600 was arriving in Maine from Texas, and the aircraft’s registered owner shares a Houston address with Arnold & Itkin, a personal injury law firm.
FAA records show that the aircraft began service in April 2020.
The Bangor Fire Department is responding to the incident at the airport alongside several neighbouring agencies, namely the Glenburn and Hermon fire departments.
Bangor International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located in the city of Bangor, about 129 miles (207.6 kilometres) from Portland. The airport has a single runway.
Bangor International Airport offers direct flights to cities like Orlando, Florida; Washington, D.C.; and Charlotte, North Carolina, and is located about 200 miles (321.9 kilometres) north of Boston.
Throughout the weekend, the winter snowstorm dumped sleet, freezing rain and snow across much of the eastern half of the United States, halting a lot of air and road traffic and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of residents and businesses in the Southeast.
Airports in Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore, North Carolina, New York and New Jersey were among those impacted by the winter snowstorm, with some 12,000 flights cancelled on Sunday and nearly 20,000 flights delayed.
The Bombardier Challenger 600 remains a popular private aircraft, with it first having been launched in 1980 as the first private jet with a walk-about cabin.
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