At a news briefing on Wednesday, Jose Saavedra, the director of Bangor International Airport, said that extreme winter conditions slowed the work at the crash scene of a private jet that killed six people. Saavedra said deep snow had blanketed the area and covered the burned wreckage, delaying access needed for the federal investigation.
Saavedra said the crash brought the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration to the scene, along with state and local authorities. He said investigators recovered the cockpit voice and data recorders for analysis. He also said the state medical examiner’s office was present to remove the bodies of the victims and to formally identify them.
The airport director said Bangor International Airport would remain closed until at least 9 a.m. Thursday. He tied the closure to the ongoing work at the crash site, which he said was difficult because of the continuing winter weather.
The jet involved was a Bombardier Challenger 600, traveling to Paris. According to Saavedra, the aircraft stopped to refuel during light snow, mild winds and near-zero temperatures as a larger storm began to reach Bangor on Sunday night. He said another plane had just aborted takeoff and told the tower that they chose not to fly because visibility was not great and they would need more deicing.
Saavedra said the snow would eventually accumulate to about 9.5 inches, though he described it as only beginning at the time of the crash. He said the Challenger 600 had gone through a standard deicing process before proceeding to the runway, but he said the airport had not answered questions about exactly what time the plane was deiced and how long the deicing treatment was expected to last.
He explained that if the calculated “holdover time” for a de-icing treatment expires, a pilot is expected to go back for another treatment. The airport director said the investigation still needs details about the timing and the expected effectiveness of the treatment applied to the aircraft.
Among the victims was an event planner and a corporate pilot, according to the report. Lakewood Church in Houston, run by Joel Osteen Ministries, confirmed that Shawna Collins, 53, was among those killed. The report also said Collins worked for a luxury travel business led by attorney Tara Arnold, whose husband, Kurt Arnold, co-founded the Texas law firm linked to the plane.
The report said the family of pilot Jacob Hosmer, 47, confirmed his death but declined to comment.
Funk contributed from Omaha, Nebraska, and Dale reported from Philadelphia.