Several people were killed after a private twin engine Bombardier business jet crashed during takeoff at Maine’s Bangor International Airport (BGR) in bad weather.
A 2020 Bombardier CL-600 Challenger belonging to KTKJ Challenger LLC burst into flames after crashing at 7:45 PM on Jan. 25 amid heavy snow blanketing the Northeast. The bad weather conditions likely contributed to the incident, say authorities.
The business jet crashed and burst into flames during takeoff, killing at least a half-dozen people on board, officials said.
It is still unknown who was onboard, but the plane belonged to top anti-ICE and anti-Trump lawyers who defended illegal aliens.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
BGR will remain closed until at least Wednesday, airport officials said on Facebook.
The business jet “crashed under unknown circumstances on departure” before it “came to rest inverted and caught on fire,” according to a preliminary FAA report on Sunday.
“According to the flight manifest, there were six people on the flight,” according to a Bangor Police Department statement on Monday afternoon.
“No one from the incident was transported to the hospital, and all on the flight are presumed to be deceased.”
A follow-up FAA report on Jan. 26 said that were seven dead but had no information about an eighth passenger who is also presumed dead.
However, BGR spokeswoman Aimee Thibodeau disputed that number and stated at a press conference that there were six passengers and six fatalities.
“We have confirmed the six souls on board with the manifest that was filed, and that includes passengers and crew,” Thibodeau said.
“So that is confirmed through our officials that check the flight manifest.”
BGR Director Jose Saavedra said during the briefing that the airport was “awaiting guidance and support from the federal partners before we can make any additional statements to not interfere with their investigations, as they’re the leaders of what the next steps look like.”
He said that someone was heard saying in an audio recording of the air traffic controllers that morning, “Aircraft upside down. We have a passenger aircraft upside down,” about 45 seconds after the plane was cleared for takeoff.
The Maine National Guard, local firefighters, and first responders from “approximately 10 other municipalities responded to the scene” of the crash, according to Saavedra.
FAA records show that the Bombardier jet was registered to two attorneys, Jason Itkin and Kurt Arnold of the law firm Arnold & Itkin, which has spent time fighting the Trump Administration’s border policies and defending illegal aliens against ICE, but it is not known if they were on board.
The Texas Voice reported last June that the Arnold & Itkin and Abraham Watkins law firms, along with George Soros and other personal injury trial firms, were major donors to the left-wing First Tuesday PAC during the 2024 election cycle.
The Arnold & Itkin and Abraham Watkins law firms each donated $300,000 to the First Tuesday PAC in support of their efforts to elect Democrats in 2024.
The super PAC was responsible for a multi-million dollar ad campaign that encouraged voters to “Stop MAGA Republicans” and “Vote For Every Democrat.”
Experts told the Associated Press that the Bombardier Challenger 600 had a history of accidents linked to accumulation of ice on wings during takeoff.
The fact that the plane was sitting outside in snow for over an hour before attempting departure may have contributed to the crash.
The crash at BGR is now among the deadliest plane crashes in Maine history.
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