A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board found that the jet remained on the ground for about 17 minutes after anti-icing fluid was applied before attempting takeoff from Bangor International Airport on Jan. 25. Federal Aviation Administration guidelines recommend a maximum “holdover time” of about nine minutes under snowy conditions. 

If a plane waits too long before taking off, ice can accumulate again, disrupting airflow and causing problems during the flight. Cockpit voice recordings obtained from the plane indicate the pilots misunderstood the guidelines and believed waiting 14 to 18 minutes was standard practice for the weather conditions.

The report is preliminary and the official cause of the crash won’t be identified until the final report is released sometime next year.

The aircraft, a Bombardier Challenger 600 business jet registered to law firm Arnold & Itkin LLP, was traveling from Houston to Paris and had stopped in Bangor to refuel before crossing the Atlantic. Shortly after taking off around 7:45 p.m., the plane lost control, flipped upside down and burst into flames. All six people on board were killed, including four passengers and two pilots. 

The Arnold and Itkin families are major University of Texas Athletics donors. The Longhorns printed their names on the scoreboard at Royal-Memorial Stadium in 2024 in recognition of their contributions. As of 2024, Texas said the two families had combined to pledge a total of $40 million. 

The other victims included event planner Shawna Collins, 53, of Houston; chef Nick Mastrascusa, 43, and sommelier Shelby Kuyawa, 34, both of Hawaii; and pilots Jacob Hosmer, 47, of Pearland, Texas, and Jorden Reidel, 33, of Texas.