The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday afternoon that an initial investigation of Tuesday’s aircraft crash in East Hartford, Connecticut, indicates the crash is the result of an intentional act, NBC Connecticut reports.
The FBI will be leading the investigation, the NTSB said.
The twin-engine Piper PA 34 crashed around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday near the headquarters of military jet-engine maker Pratt & Whitney, killing a student pilot who was onboard.
The New York Times reported that the survivor of the crash told authorities that the crash was not an accident. Police said the plane's pilot was taken to a hospital with serious burns.
An occupant of the plane, Feras M. Freitekh, is a Jordanian national who first entered the U.S. in 2012 on a temporary student M1 visa to fulfill a flight school study course. His status changed to an F1 visa and he went to a language school in Toledo, Ohio. Then his status went back to M1, according to CBS News.
Freitekh was reported by the Times as the passenger who was killed. The CBS News report called him the pilot.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane, hit a utility pole on Main Street as it was in its final approach to Hartford-Brainard Airport.
PIX11 reported that FBI, SWAT and state and local police were seen entering an apartment in Hartford after the crash, but there is no word on whether that raid is connected to the crash.
Mayor Marcia Leclerc said the pilot was being interviewed by detectives and was taken to Bridgeport Hospital with serious burns. The plane took off from a flight school at the airport, she said.
East Hartford police chief Scott M. Sansom described the Pratt & Whitney factory near the crash as "critical infrastructure," according to the Times. Pratt & Whitney is a manufacturer of jet engines for commercial, military, and general aviation aircraft.
Sansom said, "It will be a lengthy investigation for the next few days," noting that it was too early to tell what caused the crash, according to The Hartford Courant.
Pratt & Whitney spokesman Ray Hernandez said it did not appear that any company employees or contractors were involved in the crash, according to the Times.
The Courant's report said two people in a minivan that stopped feet from the plane were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Police said the minivan did not appear to have been hit by the plane.
Jonathan Rucker told the Courant that he was sitting at a picnic table when he heard the plane go silent. "It tipped to the left and just dropped like a rock." An employee at a nearby muffler shop, said, "It went down, then disintegrated. It was gone."
Frank Crandall saw the crash while driving. He said he saw a woman from the minivan screaming. "She was fine, she came into our office," he told the Courant.
Fox 61 reported that Hartford police said the scene is safe and no suspects are at large.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.