A private Bombardier Challenger 600 business jet crashed while attempting to take off from Bangor International Airport in Maine Sunday night amid a powerful winter storm, killing all six people aboard, authorities say.
Officials initially cited conflicting passenger numbers — with a preliminary Federal Aviation Administration report suggesting eight people were on the aircraft — before airport and police officials clarified that the flight manifest listed six occupants, all presumed dead.
The jet, registered to a Texas LLC linked by address to the law firm Arnold & Itkin, overturned and caught fire around 7:45 p.m. as deteriorating weather moved into the region, disrupting flights and travel across the Northeast.
The discrepancy in reported numbers has drawn attention to how passenger information is tracked for private flights: while commercial airlines must file and maintain accurate passenger manifests with specific federal requirements, private jets operating under general aviation rules aren’t always required by federal law to carry a formal manifest in every situation, especially if the flight is privately operated rather than chartered.
This can lead to initial confusion in emergency reporting and early incident summaries.
Federal investigators from the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are now on the scene, and full investigations into the crash and its causes — including weather and ice buildup concerns — typically take many months to complete.
The identities of the victims have not yet been publicly released, and NTSB officials say a preliminary report may be released in several weeks as experts continue to examine flight data and the wreckage.
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