At least 6 dead in Maine plane crash as US hit by winter storm

At least six people have died after a private plane crashed while taking off from Bangor International Airport in Maine on Sunday evening, local authorities said.

There were six people on the plane according to the flight manifest, the statement from Bangor police said. “No one from the incident was transported to the hospital, and all on the flight are presumed to be deceased.”

The US Federal Aviation Administration said in an earlier statement that the plane was carrying eight people. In a preliminary accident report on the agency’s website, it said seven of those eight had died and one was seriously injured.

The local police said several federal and state agencies are investigating the crash and “it is important that we don’t release any information until all parties have completed their work and can confirm the information being released”.

The jet, a Bombardier Inc Challenger 650, crashed at about 7.45pm local time, the FAA said in a statement.

The US National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the crash.