FBI heads to Hartford plane crash; survivor says Feras Freitekh intentionally downed aircraft

The FBI is investigating a Hartford, Connecticut, plane crash after one of the survivors said a Jordanian man purposefully downed the aircraft.

Flight student Feras Freitekh, 28, died Tuesday when the twin-engine plane he was flying crashed just outside the headquarters of Pratt & Whitney. His instructor survived the crash and told investigators it was no accident the Piper PA-34 Seneca exploded near the military and commercial jet engine maker’s complex.

The National Transportation Safety Board released a statement Tuesday confirming the FBI’s involvement and indicators that “the crash is the result of an intentional act,” CBS News reported.

Mr. Freitekh arrived in the U.S. in 2012 on an M1 visa for flight school and was issued a pilot’s license in May 2015, the network reported. The man was issued a license for single-engine planes.

“As far as the occupants of the plane, [the pilot] is expected to survive,” East Hartford Police Lt. Josh Litwin told CBS News. “He is cooperating with investigators. He’s actually speaking with detectives as part of this investigation as ongoing.”

Pratt & Whitney issued a statement Tuesday saying it was “assisting authorities as needed.”