Private jet crashes with eight people on board in middle of huge snowstorm
A private jet crashed upside down shortly after taking off with eight passengers at an airport in Bangor, Maine.
The incident happened on Sunday evening amid a massive snowstorm hitting much of the eastern US and Canada, with visibility very poor.
CNN reported the condition of the people who were on board the Bombardier Challenger 650 business jet is still not known.
According to Reuters, the registered owner of the plane shares an address in the Texas city of Houston with personal injury law firm Arnold & Itkin.
A government official told the news agency it had arrived in Maine from Texas, and that there was a significant fire following the crash.
In a statement, Bangor International Airport warned the public to stay away from the area.
Posted at 10.30pm on Sunday local time, it said: ‘First responders are still on scene and are expected to be actively working the site for several more hours before additional information is available.’
Audio from the airport obtained by CNN included a flight controller saying two minutes after the jet was cleared for takeoff: ‘All traffic is stopped on the field! All traffic is stopped on the field!’
Shortly afterwards, another controller says: ‘Aircraft upside down. We have a passenger aircraft upside down.’
Bangor is currently covered by a winter storm warning, with the US National Weather Service predicting snow building up to depths of between 10 and 16 inches (25 to 40cm).
Temperatures in the state are not expected to reach above -5°C for the next week.
At least nine people are believed to have died due to the poor weather, including one in Massachusetts near Maine.
More than 11,000 flights either entering, exiting or within the US were cancelled yesterday.
Aviation analytics firm Cirium said that as of Sunday morning, the storm is the highest experienced cancellation event since the pandemic.
Dozens of state governors have urged residents to stay indoors over fears the weather could become more turbulent over the next few days.
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