A private jet carrying eight people has crashed while taking off from Bangor International Airport in the US state of Maine, aviation authorities have said. The Bombardier Challenger 600 went down at around 19:45 local time (00:45 GMT on Monday), the Federal Aviation Administration said, but the fate and identities of those on board were not immediately clear.
The incident came as a dangerous winter storm barrelled across a large swathe of the US, killing several people and leaving hundreds of thousands without power. Pilots had reportedly been struggling with visibility at the airport before the crash.
Bangor remains under a winter storm warning until Tuesday, with heavy snowfall forecast. Following the incident, Bangor International Airport announced its closure, urging the public to avoid the area as emergency crews responded.
Audio from air traffic control captured discussions between controllers and pilots minutes before the crash concerning poor visibility, with a controller later reporting a 'passenger aircraft upside down'. Eyewitnesses reported smoke and flames on the runway. The disruption comes amid widespread travel chaos due to the storm, which has resulted in over 11,000 flight cancellations and nearly 5,500 delays on Sunday across the US, according to FlightAware. Airports in major cities such as Philadelphia, Washington DC, and New York were severely affected.
The National Weather Service has warned of 10 to 16 inches (25-40cm) of snow accumulation in parts of Maine, including Bangor, by Tuesday morning.
The incident came as a dangerous winter storm barrelled across a large swathe of the US, killing several people and leaving hundreds of thousands without power. Pilots had reportedly been struggling with visibility at the airport before the crash.
Bangor remains under a winter storm warning until Tuesday, with heavy snowfall forecast. Following the incident, Bangor International Airport announced its closure, urging the public to avoid the area as emergency crews responded.
Audio from air traffic control captured discussions between controllers and pilots minutes before the crash concerning poor visibility, with a controller later reporting a 'passenger aircraft upside down'. Eyewitnesses reported smoke and flames on the runway. The disruption comes amid widespread travel chaos due to the storm, which has resulted in over 11,000 flight cancellations and nearly 5,500 delays on Sunday across the US, according to FlightAware. Airports in major cities such as Philadelphia, Washington DC, and New York were severely affected.
The National Weather Service has warned of 10 to 16 inches (25-40cm) of snow accumulation in parts of Maine, including Bangor, by Tuesday morning.
