The FBI is now investigating the circumstances behind a small plane that crashed into a utility pole in East Hartford, Conn. on Tuesday after the sole survivor of the crash allegedly told investigators it was intentional:
FBI investigating if deadly plane crash in Connecticut was intentional https://t.co/6yIQ82PwUl
— CBS Top News (@CBSTopNews) October 12, 2016
The crash occurred near a Pratt & Whitney plant, which East Hartford police chief Scott M. Sansom referred to as “critical infrastructure” during a press conference:
FBI investigating whether the crash of a small plane in Conn. near Pratt & Whitney plant was intentional https://t.co/6TFBx5PYXq
— Tim Hanrahan (@TimJHanrahan) October 12, 2016
One man, identified as Feras M. Freitekh, was killed in the crash. CBS News reported that Freitekh was the pilot and a Jordanian national in the U.S. on a student visa:
The pilot, Feras M. Freitekh, is a Jordanian national who 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.
However, the New York Times reported that Freitekh was actually the passenger and it was the pilot who survived:
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 survivor — whether he was the pilot or the passenger — has yet to be identified.
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