Yesterday afternoon, a twin-engine plane crashed on a street in East Hartford, Connecticut, killing a passenger and injuring its pilot and two people on the ground. Now the FBI is involved in the investigation, because the crash occurred near Pratt & Whitney, an aerospace manufacturer that makes planes for both civilian and military purposes.
The crash occurred at 3:40 p.m. near Main and Colt Streets. The Piper PA 34 twin-engine plane, which left Hartford-Brainard Airport, held a flight instructor and a student.
The pilot, who survived the crash, told investigators that it was not an accident. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing.
Officials identified the passenger as Feras M. Freitekh, 28. Public records show he had lived in Orland Hills, Ill., about 35 miles southwest of Chicago. Federal Aviation Administration records show he was issued a private pilot certificate on May 29, 2015, and was certified to fly a single-engine plane...
The police chief of East Hartford, Scott M. Sansom, said during a news conference that the police sought the help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation because the plane went down near a Pratt & Whitney factory on Main Street, which he described as being “critical infrastructure.”
Freitekh was a Jordanian national; CBS News reports that he "first entered the U.S. in 2012 on a temporary student M1 visa to fulfill a course of study for flight school, CBS News has learned. At some point his status changed to an F1 visa, and he went to a language school in Toledo, Ohio. It then went back to an M1 visa."
The pilot suffered serious burns and the two people in a minivan were not physically hurt but "traumatized." A driver told the Hartford Courant, "I saw the plane hit the power lines, go into a power pole and then hit just before a minivan and burst into flames. I thought the power lines were going to come down, so I gunned it."
About 500 people lost power after the lines were downed. Pratt & Whitney issued a statement, "We are aware of the incident that occurred this afternoon on Main Street. Our thoughts are with the people affected. It does not appear at this time that any Pratt & Whitney employees or contractors were involved. Additionally, there is no impact to our operation here in East Hartford other than restricted traffic flow to the facility's main entrance on Main Street. We stand ready to assist local officials as needed. Additional queries should be directed to the appropriate local officials."
Fire Chief John Oates said, "This ... is a very complex situation with a lot of different agencies and a lot of different moving parts."
