Private jet with eight aboard goes down in flames in Maine airport crash

A private jet carrying eight people caught fire after crashing during takeoff at a Maine airport, US aviation officials said, with no immediate word on who was aboard or their condition.

Sunday's crash of a twin-engine turbo-fan jet Bombardier Challenger 600 at Bangor International Airport happened at about 7:45pm, 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.

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.