Gulfstream IV N121JM crash claims seven lives

A Gulfstream IV private jet crashed on take-off from Bedford-Hanscom Field Airport, claiming the lives of all seven people on board.

The 2000-build aircraft, registered as msn 1399 / N121JM, crashed while departing from Bedford-Hanscom Field Airport in the state of Massachusetts.

The Gulfstream’s first flight of the day had taken N121JM on a short hop from Wilmington’s New Castle Airport in Delaware to Atlantic City, New Jersey. After a few hours on the ground, the aircraft left Atlantic City for the 48 minute flight to Bedford.

The accident happened when the aircraft was flying back to Atlantic City at around 21:40 local time on Saturday 31 May.

Several eye-witnesses told local newspapers than they heard a loud explosion, and saw a fireball rising to about 60 ft in the sky.

According to a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) statement from the scene later on Sunday, the aircraft clipped an antenna on its take-off run, over-ran the end of the runway and caught fire.

Local resident Jared Patterson, who lives beside the runway, told the The Boston Globe: “I heard a big boom, and I thought at the time that someone was trying to break into my house because it shook it.”

Matthew Brelis, a spokesman for Massachusetts Port Authority, confirmed that all seven people on board the aircraft had died.

“There were no survivors,” said Brelis. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the people on board and their loved ones.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer has said that Lewis Katz, one of the owners of the newspaper – as well as The Daily News and Philly.com – died in the crash. Katz was 72 years old.

Bedford-Hanscom Field Airport was closed following the accident. A further update was expected from airport officials at 08:00 local time on Sunday, but this was postponed.

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