According to major media reports, the plane was a Bombardier CL-600-2B16 Challenger 650 that flipped during takeoff and exploded in a fireball. The victims were Tara Arnold (46), Nick Mastrascusa (43), Shelby Kuyawa (34), Shawna Collins (39), Jacob Hosmer (47), and Jorden Reidel (33). The plane was owned by Arnold's husband's law firm Arnold & Itkin and was flying to Paris for a location scouting trip for a new travel venture.
S. to Europe, and the plane stopped there to refuel after arriving from Houston. The plane was loaded with 19,872 lbs of fuel when it crashed, causing multiple explosions and a massive fireball.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a preliminary report that criticized the delay in taking off after de-icing. The report did not specify a cause for the crash, which will be included in the full report later this year. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) guidelines state that the plane should have waited no more than nine minutes from the start of de-icing treatment before taking off in cold and snowy conditions.
The NTSB report found that 17 minutes passed before takeoff after de-icing. The cockpit voice recorder captured pilot Jacob Hosmer commenting that it was 'standard' to have 14 to 18 minutes between de-icing and takeoff. Hosmer said that if the wait was more than 30 minutes, they would return to the ramp to have the plane retreated, and co-pilot Jorden Reidel concurred.
Aviation safety consultant John Cox said that comment 'makes me wonder if they actually ran the time' because the guidelines made it clear they didn't have that much time. Aviation experts believe the de-icing delay to be at fault for the crash. The exact cause of the crash remains unknown, pending the NTSB's full investigation.