Deadly Crash in Maine

A private business jet crashed and burst into flames during takeoff from Bangor International Airport in Maine, killing all six people on board, including the wife of a well-known Texas attorney.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the jet flipped and caught fire around 7:45 p.m. Sunday, right in the middle of Winter Storm Fern. And, because this is the kind of thing that happens in a bad movie, someone was heard on the flight radio saying ‘Let there be light’ right before takeoff.

Victims Identified

Among the dead is Tara Arnold, a 46-year-old mother of two and wife of Kurt Arnold, a founding partner of Arnold and Itkin Trial Lawyers in Houston. The firm’s website says Kurt Arnold has won over $20 billion in verdicts and settlements for his clients – not that it matters much now.

The pilot, Jacob Hosmer, 47, also died in the crash. His friends and family are calling him a ‘role model’ and saying he was ‘the light of the room’ – which is pretty much the nicest thing you can say about someone.

The FAA hasn’t released the cause of the crash yet, citing ‘unknown circumstances’. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating, because that’s what they do.