Private jet crashes in flames at Maine airport with eight aboard

WASHINGTON: A private jet crashed in flames as it was taking off from a Maine airport with eight aboard, the US aviation regulator said, but their fate and identities were not immediately known.

Sunday’s crash of a twin-engine turbo-fan jet Bombardier Challenger 600 at Bangor International Airport happened at about 7:45 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement, adding that it planned to investigate.

Few details were available, but a government official briefed on the matter told Reuters there was a significant fire after the crash.

Light snow had started falling at the airport before the crash, weather reports showed, but authorities gave no immediate indication that weather played a role in the accident.

A winter storm warning covered most of Maine, including Bangor, the state’s third-largest city.

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The plane had arrived in Maine from Texas, the government official said.

The company listed as its registered owner shares a Houston address with Arnold & Itkin, a personal injury law firm.

FAA records show the craft went into service in April 2020.

The FAA said it would investigate the crash along with the National Transportation Safety Board.