Seven people were killed and an eighth person survived when a private jet crashed during takeoff at Bangor International Airport in Maine on Sunday night, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The FAA identified the aircraft as a Bombardier Challenger 600 and said the crash occurred at 7:45 p.m. The jet “came to rest inverted and caught on fire,” the agency said in a statement. The FAA is investigating the crash alongside the National Transportation Safety Board.
Those killed in the crash were passengers, while the sole member of the flight crew was seriously injured, the FAA said.
Bangor International Airport said that it was closed after the crash and that emergency crews were responding. Members of the public were asked to avoid the area.
While the cause of the crash was not immediately clear, it came as a colossal winter storm barreled across a large swath of the nation, including Maine — bringing snow, sleet and ice along with power outages, school closures and frigid temperatures.
Bangor is under a winter storm warning until Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
Federal investigators were unable to reach the crash site Sunday night due to the weather, the Bangor Daily News reported.
“Certainly, the weather is challenging,” Bangor police spokesman Jeremy Brock told local media Sunday night. “I’m sure it will continue to be a challenge throughout the night and into the day tomorrow.”
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