Private jet carrying 8 people crashes at Maine airport amid US snowstorm

A private aircraft carrying eight people crashed while attempting to take off from Bangor International Airport in the U.S. state of Maine on Sunday night.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said an Bombardier Challenger 600 came down during take-off at about 7:45 p.m. local time.

No further details were immediately released by the FAA about the circumstances of the crash, which took place amid a massive snowstorm engulfing much of the U.S.

Bangor International Airport provides direct air links to major destinations including Orlando in Florida, Washington, D.C., and Charlotte, North Carolina. The airport sits roughly 200 miles north of Boston.

Much of the eastern half of the United States was hit by a powerful winter storm over the weekend, bringing a mix of sleet, freezing rain and snow. The weather system severely disrupted both air and road travel and left hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses without electricity, particularly across the south-eastern states.

"An incident at the airport is under investigation," Bangor International Airport said in a Facebook post shortly before 8:30 p.m. "First responders are on scene and assessing the situation."

A government official briefed on the incident said the aircraft was engulfed in a substantial fire after the crash. It had flown to Maine from Texas prior to the accident, Reuters reported.

Flight tracking service FlightRadar24 said on X that it was monitoring reports of an aircraft crash at Bangor, adding that available data suggested the jet had been preparing to take off after landing from Houston.

Audio obtained from LiveATC.net captures exchanges between controllers and pilots discussing poor visibility and the need for de-icing, although it is unclear which aircraft were involved in those conversations.

One controller is heard authorising the pilot to depart from Runway 33. Less than two minutes later, the same frequency carries an urgent message: “All traffic is stopped on the field! All traffic is stopped on the field!”

Soon after, another controller reports the severity of the situation, saying: “Aircraft upside down. We have a passenger aircraft upside down.”

The airport has been shut down to all flights as emergency vehicles were cleared to enter the airfield, reported CNN. In a subsequent transmission, a controller says officials were aware of “three crew and possibly five passengers” on board the aircraft.

The Bombardier Challenger 600, a wide-bodied business jet commonly used for private and charter flights, is typically configured to carry between nine and 11 passengers. Introduced in 1980, it was the first private jet designed with a so-called “walk-about cabin” and continues to be widely used in the charter market, according to aircharterservice.com.