Six individuals lost their lives following the crash of a private jet during takeoff from Bangor International Airport in Maine, USA.
The aircraft involved was a Bombardier Challenger 600, and it crashed at approximately 19:45 local time on Sunday, January 25, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) acknowledged the incident in a statement, confirming a fatal crash and mentioning that both the NTSB and the FAA were investigating the situation.
“The preliminary information we have is the plane crashed upon departing Bangor International Airport and experienced a post-crash fire,” the NTSB stated, as reported by CNN.
On Monday, the FAA initially reported seven fatalities and one serious injury. However, this information was corrected by the airport and Bangor police, who clarified that only six people were on board.
“According to the flight manifest there were six people on the flight. No one from the incident was transported to the hospital, and all on the flight are presumed to be deceased. The identities of the people on the flight are not being released publicly at this time, pending positive identification,” stated the authorities.
Audio from LiveATC.net, obtained by CNN, revealed that air traffic controllers and pilots were discussing low visibility conditions shortly before the crash, as Storm Fern brought snow and icy temperatures from the Northeast. Minutes after one controller cleared the jet for takeoff, another controller was heard saying: “All traffic is stopped on the field! All traffic is stopped on the field!”
A controller then announced, “Aircraft upside down. We have a passenger aircraft upside down.”
Photos from the crash site showed significant damage, with smoke and flames covering the runway.
Bangor International Airport announced that it had shut down to all traffic following the incident and that emergency crews were on the scene.
The investigation is ongoing, and officials have not yet disclosed the victims’ identities.
On Sunday, the historic storm caused the cancellation of over 11,000 flights and delayed nearly 5,500 across the US, as reported by FlightAware.
Airports in cities such as Philadelphia, Washington DC, Baltimore, North Carolina, New York, and New Jersey were significantly impacted.
The National Weather Service predicted between 10 and 16 inches of snow would accumulate in Bangor by Tuesday morning.
This tragic event is one of several aviation accidents in January, which has witnessed nine fatal crashes and 37 non-fatal incidents in the first few weeks of 2026.
The incident also raises ongoing safety concerns in aviation, following 1,416 aviation accidents last year, including 267 fatalities.