Six presumed dead after business plane crashes during Maine snowstorm

BANGOR, Maine – A business jet flipped and burst into flames during a takeoff attempt in a snowstorm at Bangor International Airport on Sunday night, leaving six people presumed dead.

Federal officials and air traffic control recordings indicate the crash occurred at approximately 7:45 p.m. Local authorities based the death toll on the flight's passenger manifest.

The aircraft, a Bombardier Challenger 600, is registered to a Houston-based corporation that shares an address with the law firm Arnold & Itkin, according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records.

The airport was closed immediately following the accident. At the time, a major winter storm was moving across much of the United States, producing heavy snowfall in the area.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the crash. Investigators are expected to examine whether ice accumulated on the wings, a known issue in the flight history of this specific aircraft model.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) probe into the crash in Bangor is poised to focus on a perennial challenge of winter aviation: wing icing. Investigators are expected to zero in on whether the Bombardier Challenger 600 was properly de-iced prior to departure, as this specific airframe has a documented history of icing-related takeoff incidents.

Central to the investigation are the environmental and operational variables at the time of the accident, including the aircraft's one-hour dwell time on the tarmac during active snowfall. While airport authorities have defended their standard weather-handling procedures, the ultimate regulatory responsibility for de-icing and the decision to take off lies with the flight crew. Investigators are also exploring whether "cold-soaked" fuel in the wing tanks accelerated ice accumulation, a technical factor often cited in winter runway excursions.

The NTSB will rely on ground crew testimony, maintenance logs, and flight data recorder (FDR) analysis to reconstruct the sequence of events. The incident serves as a stark reminder to the industry that, despite significant technological advancements, adherence to fundamental safety protocols remains the critical fail-safe when operating in extreme weather environments.

While this aviation disaster was a major tragedy in the United States, it had no specific or direct impact on the Vietnamese-American community. There were no reported disruptions to cultural hubs like Little Saigon, the nail salon industry, or phở restaurants. Additionally, the event did not affect the flow of remittances or the processing of standard visa categories such as F2B, H-1B, TPS, and EB-5.