Washington [US], January 26: A business jet carrying eight people crashed shortly after takeoff from Bangor, Maine, amidst a blizzard gripping the United States.
CNN reported that the crashed plane was a Bombardier Challenger 650 business jet, registered to a limited liability company in Houston, Texas. The plane had previously been flying from Texas to Maine.
Bangor Airport reported that emergency response teams were on the scene of the accident at approximately 7:45 PM on January 25th (morning of January 26th, Vietnam time). A large fire broke out after the accident. The plane was carrying eight people, and their condition is currently unknown.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), widespread snowfall and hail are threatening nearly 180 million Americans (more than half the population) across a vast area stretching from the Rocky Mountains (from the northwest to Mexico) to the Northeast. The blizzard is forecast to bring 30-60 cm of snow across the Northeast, from Washington D.C. to New York and Boston.
According to AP, more than 11,400 flights were canceled on January 25. Aviation analytics firm Cirium said that as of the morning of January 25, the number of flights canceled due to the snowstorm had reached a record high since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Many other flights continued to be canceled that afternoon. LaGuardia Airport in New York was closed. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport announced that all airlines were canceling flights from the airport for the day, while numerous other major airports were also affected.
Additionally, more than 1 million households and businesses in eight states lost power on January 25 due to the snowstorm, according to Reuters. President Donald Trump called the snowstorm a "historic" event and on January 24 approved the declaration of a federal disaster emergency in 12 states. On the same day, 17 states and the District of Columbia declared weather emergencies.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed the accident and said the airport was closed following the incident. The FAA is working with the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate the cause of the incident.
The plane crash occurred amidst a major snowstorm approaching the northeastern United States. Temperatures in Maine are currently below freezing, with light snowfall resulting in severely limited visibility.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
