BANGOR, Maine — Multiple people were killed when a business jet linked to a Houston law firm crashed at the Bangor International Airport in Maine Sunday night.

The crash happened just before 7 p.m. Houston time on Sunday and involved a Bombardier Challenger 650, a wide-bodied business jet typically configured to carry between nine and 11 passengers, the FAA said. The flight originated from Hobby Airport in Houston, according to flight records. It was on its way to an airport near Paris, France.

At a news conference Monday morning, Bangor airport director Jose Saavedra didn’t give specifics of the people on board the flight, but according to an FAA report, seven people were killed and one person was injured. Later Monday morning, the airport issued a release saying that there six people onboard, and all six were dead.

At this point, we don’t know who was on the plane, but the registered owner returns to a Houston address shared with the law firm Arnold & Itkin.

The crash happened as much of the Northeast was dealing with dangerous winter weather. Snow was falling in Bangor at the time, with temperatures hovering near 2 degrees. According to a local meteorologist, visibility was limited to less than a mile when the crash occurred. However, it remains unclear whether weather conditions played a role.

During Monday’s news conference, Saavedra said first responders were on the scene in under a minute, and it remains an active scene. The airport was open at the time of the crash, but remains closed.

“In addition to the Maine National Guard initial response with their fire and rescue vehicles, the Bangor Fire Department and approximately 10 other municipalities responded to the scene,” Saavedra said.

Aviation expert Jeff Girgle said to have patience as details are sorted.
“The FAA and the NTSB, they know what they’re doing. They’re well-versed and well-educated on putting together crime scenes of this nature. And when I say crime scenes, like, that just goes back to my law enforcement background, but any accident scene, um. And they’ll, they’ll take their time,” Girgle said.

Aviation litigation experts say investigators will also rely heavily on data from the plane’s black box.

 “Data recorders are huge sources of information communication or data about the plane and machinery and what altitude when things started to go wrong,” Attorney Pablo Rojas said.

 One major clue, he says, is how the aircraft crashed upside down.

“A lot of aircraft can’t fly upside down or at high angles, let alone over…that is a clue that something went terribly wrong,” Rojas said.

Saavedra said more details would be provided as they became available.

Federal investigation begins

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. The NTSB said preliminary information shows the plane crashed upon departure and experienced a post-crash fire, but that it would have no further statement until after investigators arrive.

The NTSB said it has no role in the release of information about victims and that such information is handled by local authorities. But Saavedra refused to comment, saying at a news conference Monday that he was “awaiting guidance and support from federal partners.”

An audio recording of air traffic controllers includes someone saying “Aircraft upside down. We have a passenger aircraft upside down,” about 45 seconds after a plane was cleared for takeoff. First responders arrived less than a minute later, Saavedra said.

Bangor International Airport offers direct flights to cities like Orlando, Florida, Washington, D.C., and Charlotte, North Carolina, and is located about 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of Boston. It was closed shortly after the crash and will remain closed until at least noon on Wednesday.

About the aircraft

The Bombardier Challenger 600 is a wide-bodied business jet configured for nine to 11 passengers. It was launched in 1980 as the first private jet with a “walk-about cabin” and remains a popular charter option, according to aircharterservice.com.