Bangor plane crash: Private jet carrying 8 people crashes at Maine airport, FAA says

A private jet carrying eight people crashed during takeoff Sunday evening in Maine, and their fates remain uncertain.

Emergency crews responded to an incident around 7:45 p.m., Bangor International Airport told CNN.

The extent of injuries among those on board was not known, a source briefed on the incident told CNN.

The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board both said they are investigating.

“The preliminary information we have is the plane crashed upon departing Bangor International Airport and experienced a postcrash fire,” the NTSB said Monday.

The airport remained closed Monday morning.

The plane is a Bombardier Challenger 650 business jet and is registered to a limited liability corporation in Houston, according to federal records.

The crash happened as a massive snowstorm tore through the Northeast. Temperatures were well below freezing in Maine, with light snow causing very low visibility.

Minutes before the crash, controllers and pilots at Bangor airport can be heard talking about low visibility and deicing, though it is not immediately clear who is talking to whom, according to audio obtained from LiveATC.net.

A controller clears the pilot for takeoff on Bangor’s Runway 33.

Nearly two minutes later, a controller loudly radios: “All traffic is stopped on the field! All traffic is stopped on the field!”

Moments later, another controller is heard saying, “Aircraft upside down. We have a passenger aircraft upside down.”

The airport is then closed, and emergency vehicles are allowed to drive on the airfield.

A controller later says they are aware of “three crew and possibly five passengers” on board.

NTSB investigators plan to travel to Bangor, but due to the weather, it is difficult to predict when that will be, a spokesperson told CNN Monday morning.

The agency is asking anyone who has surveillance video or information about the incident to contact the NTSB at witness@ntsb.gov.

This story has been updated with additional information.