All passengers aboard a private business jet that crashed as it was taking off from Bangor International Airport in Maine on Sunday night are “presumed to be deceased,” according to authorities.
The deadly plane crash comes as Winter Storm Fern pummels the U.S., snarling air travel, wreaking havoc on the roads and plunging millions of Americans into darkness with widespread power outages.
According to the FAA, there were eight people onboard the plane – seven passengers and one flight crew member. The FAA’s website listed the flight crew member as seriously injured and the passengers as fatalities.
Bangor Police, however, released a statement on Monday saying sources are providing information that has “not been verified or vetted through all appropriate channels before being released.”
Bangor Police said “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.”
The crash happened around 7:45 p.m. local time. The FAA said the jet crashed under “unknown circumstances” on departure. The agency said the jet flipped upside down and caught on fire.
The airport remained closed on Monday, according to a news release posted to the Facebook pages of the Bangor Maine Police Department and the Bangor International Airport on Monday morning.
“Multiple emergency crews responded to an aircraft accident at Bangor International Airport (BGR) Sunday night,” according to the release. “At approximately 7:45 p.m. there were reports of an incident involving a single aircraft that was departing from BGR.”
THOUSANDS OF FLIGHTS CANCELED OR DELAYED NATIONWIDE AMID WINTER STORM CHAOS
“The airport remains closed at this time. There are numerous flight cancellations and diversions,” the release noted.
Many flights around the country have been canceled recently as much of the U.S. has been facing winter weather.
