A private aircraft carrying eight people crashed during take-off at Bangor International Airport in the US state of Maine on Sunday night, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The FAA
said the aircraft, a Bombardier Challenger 600, went down at around 7:45 pm local time. There was no immediate information on the condition of those on board. Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board have launched an investigation into the incident.
Airport closed after incident
Bangor International Airport confirmed that emergency crews were at the scene. The airport was closed following what officials described as an incident involving a single aircraft departing the airport.
The crash happened as New England and much of the United States were hit by a major winter storm. Bangor experienced steady snowfall on Sunday, similar to many other parts of the country. Over the weekend, the storm brought sleet, freezing rain and snow across large areas of the eastern US.
The Bombardier Challenger 600 is a wide-bodied business jet designed to carry between nine and 11 passengers. It was launched in 1980 as the first private jet with a “walk-about cabin” and remains a popular choice for charter flights.
Widespread travel disruption
Commercial air travel was badly affected nationwide. About 12,000 flights were cancelled on Sunday and nearly 20,000 were delayed, according to flight tracker FlightAware. Airports in Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore, North Carolina, New York and New Jersey were among those impacted. The storm also disrupted road travel and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in the Southeast.
Bangor International Airport is located about 200 miles north of Boston. It offers direct flights to cities including Orlando, Florida, Washington, D.C., and Charlotte, North Carolina.
(With AP inputs)
