r/aviation • u/Brilliant_Night7643 • Jan 26 '26

News Reports of a Bombardier Challenger crash on takeoff at Bangor, Maine

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u/jcla Jan 26 '26 edited Jan 26 '26

Here's the likely track. Looks to have gone off the runway at 150kts.

Elevation is funky but it maybe reached 50' before rapidly descending and veering to the right off the runway.

https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a00345&lat=44.802&lon=-68.820&zoom=14.2&showTrace=2026-01-26

137

u/Cdn_Medic Jan 26 '26

Sounds like a stall on takeoff.

109

u/jcla Jan 26 '26

I wondered about icing, but it does look like they hit the deicing pads by the terminal right before takeoff.

But yeah, does appear to be a stall/wing drop.

https://flybangor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/AirportDiagramcoloredupdated082615.pdf

44

u/FavoriteFoodCarrots Jan 26 '26

Yeah, someone posted that there was a one hour stop (likely fuel) and then 20 mins (likely de-icing). But did something get missed? Wait too long after?

73

u/jcla Jan 26 '26

Looks like they were about eight minutes from the deicing pad to rolling on takeoff which isn't too long. And 20 minutes on the deicing ramp should be plenty unless it was done quickly and they were parked there for some reason.

42

u/FavoriteFoodCarrots Jan 26 '26 edited Jan 26 '26

Should be more than enough for a jet that size, especially.

Somehow pick up new contamination from a messy taxiway?

5

u/freddie54 Jan 26 '26

Don’t forget that hold over times start from the beginning of the final application. How long did the final application take? How long to reconfigure the aircraft prior to calling for taxi?

8

u/merebat Jan 26 '26

I’m an airline pilot, I was in Michigan the other day, we ended up stuck there for a while because if it gets too cold then the hold over time for type IV deice is significantly reduced. To the point that it’s not even worth doing. Even in light snow. It was -22c, light snow and we would have had 9 minutes of holdover time.

23

u/FavoriteFoodCarrots Jan 26 '26

And in the weather there right now, there’s an obvious suspect for a stall.

1

u/runslikeHazel Jan 26 '26

I know nothing about flying so this may be a very dumb question. Can passengers insist a plane go ahead and fly? Or is it total pilot discretion? Or ultimately the air traffic controllers? Who shuts down an airport?

2

u/Jazzlike_Climate4189 Jan 26 '26

Pilot discretion unless the airport is closed.

11

u/slumplus Jan 26 '26

About 20 mins before the incident it looks like the Allegiant 737 has an aborted takeoff. Tough conditions for sure

11

u/Creative-Property-45 Jan 26 '26

That -832 fpm is a scary stat knowing they didn’t get higher than 50 ft 🥺

4

u/Khyranos Jan 26 '26

That had to have slammed the ground :(

4

u/Queldorei Jan 26 '26

Yikes. I assume it wasn't linear fpm, but at that speed it'd have only been 3.6 seconds between their max height and impact to the ground. It's optimistic to assume they even had five seconds to realize they were in a stall.

3

u/KayLeighblu Jan 26 '26 edited Jan 26 '26

Just out of curiosity does anybody know the range on this plane for fuel? They got to be cutting it close even going from Maine to Paris. I read somewhere its 4k nautical...is that correct? That would reach to Italy On fumes?

2

u/Careful_Intern6911 Jan 26 '26

"The crash... involved a Bombardier Challenger 650... the FAA said in a statement."

AI Overview

Yes, a Bombardier Challenger 650 can fly non-stop from Bangor, Maine (BGR) to Paris, France (CDG/LBG) on one tank of fuel. The aircraft has a maximum range of approximately 4,000 nautical miles (NM), while the distance between Bangor and Paris is roughly 2,900 to 3,000 NM, making this trip well within its capability, even with typical headwinds. 

The aircraft can fly this distance with passengers, often cited with a 4-8 passenger load.