There is no evidence of flight controls malfunctioning or failing in the fatal Bangor plane crash on Jan. 25, a report released Friday said.
The plane scraped the runway during the crash before multiple explosions were heard, according to the preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
Six people died when the fixed-wing, multi-engine Bombardier Challenger 600 crashed at 7:44 p.m. shortly after takeoff during a snowstorm. It ended up upside down and caught on fire.
The plane took off 14 minutes after it received de-icing treatment, but the maximum time it was supposed to sit was nine minutes, according to the NTSB.
The temperature and snowfall intensity were rated as moderate, according to the NTSB’s charts. Those charts show the maximum holdover time for those conditions is nine minutes.
Ground crew finished applying the de-icing to the plane at 7:30 p.m., the report said. The plane did not take off for another 14 minutes.
The cockpit voice recorder captured the pilot saying if they needed to wait more than 30 minutes to take off that they would need to be de-iced again, the report said. The co-pilot agreed.
A preliminary review of the plane’s flight data recorder showed both engines continued to gain power until the recording stopped, the report said. That data also showed there was no evidence of the flight controls malfunctioning or failing.
Multiple security cameras captured the airplane during its takeoff attempt, the NTSB report said.
There were a series of scrapes on the runway along with fuel residue that show the path of the plane as it skidded off the runway into a grassy area, the report said. The debris field was about 1,270 feet long and 150 feet wide.
The debris had damage that is consistent with a prolonged fire after the crash, according to the report.
The six people who died in the crash were 53-year-old Shawna Collins of Texas, 43-year-old Nick Mastrascusa of Hawaii, 46-year-old Tara Arnold of Texas, 47-year-old Jacob Hosmer of Texas, 34-year-old Shelby Kuyawa of Hawaii and 33-year-old Jorden Reidel of Texas.
