A private jet crashed in flames as it was taking off from a Maine airport with eight aboard, the US aviation regulator said, but their fate and identities were not immediately known.
Sunday's crash of a twin-engine turbo-fan jet Bombardier Challenger 600 at Bangor International Airport happened at about 7:45 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement, adding that it planned to investigate.
Few details were available, but a government official briefed on the matter told Reuters there was a significant fire after the crash.
No indication weather played a role in accident
Light snow had started falling at the airport before the crash, weather reports showed, but authorities gave no immediate indication that weather played a role in the accident.
A winter storm warning covered most of Maine, including Bangor, the state's third-largest city.
The plane had arrived in Maine from Texas, the government official said. The company listed as its registered owner shares a Houston address with Arnold & Itkin, a personal injury law firm.
FAA records show the craft went into service in April 2020.
The FAA said it would investigate the crash along with the National Transportation Safety Board.