PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The six people killed in a fiery plane crash in Maine were flying to France's Champagne region to scope out the next travel destination for high-net-worth clients when their small jet flipped on the runway during takeoff.
They included an acclaimed chef, a sommelier and an event planner working for Tara Arnold, 46, a Houston lawyer-turned-entrepreneur and philanthropist. Local police confirmed the death of Arnold and three of the others on Tuesday. They were flying from Houston to France’s Champagne region, stopping in Bangor to refuel, when the Bombardier Challenger 600 crashed as a snowstorm moved in Jan. 25 and burst into flames.
Police on Tuesday also confirmed the deaths of sommelier Shelby Kuyawa, 34, of Hawaii; and pilots Jacob Hosmer, 47, of Pearland, Texas, and Jorden Reidel, 33, of Texas. The victims identified earlier by family or others are event planner Shawna Collins, 53, of Houston and chef Nick Mastrascusa, 43, of Hawaii.
Arnold, a Louisiana native, began her career in mergers and acquisitions, some in the oil and gas industry, and later represented clients that included victims of offshore accidents. She was married with two young children. Her husband, Kurt, had co-founded Arnold & Itkin, a personal injury firm where she had worked.
The Arnolds had recently started the concierge service Beyond for travelers who could have their every need met at properties in Turks & Caicos and Telluride, Colorado, for as much as $15,000 to $30,000 a night.
The couple, along with firm co-founder Jason Itkin and his wife, had made a $40 million pledge to the University of Texas in 2024, and had their names placed atop the school’s towering football scoreboard.
Mastrascusa, an executive chef on Hawaii’s Big Island, had overseen restaurants at The Four Seasons and other resorts. He was a married father of three.
“That was the role he cherished most. He shared with them everything he loved: soccer, nature, curiosity and a deep appreciation for life,” a family statement said.
“Nick loved life. He embraced it with joy, humor, compassion, and soul. He believed in connection — in gathering people together, in shared meals, stories, laughter, and simply being there for one another,” the family said.
Mastrascusa told his father he was going to France for his new job to look for a property to build a hotel, his father, Jorge Mastrascusa, told The Associated Press.
Kuyawa, 34, a master sommelier, had spent time growing up in Europe and Asia, which led her to a hospitality career, according to the travel company website. She worked at high-end properties in Hawaii and Vail, Colorado, after graduating from New Mexico State University, and, along with Mastrascusa, had worked at a Kona golf resort in recent years.
She looked forward to sharing her “love of storytelling through food and wine” in her latest job, the site said. Family members did not return messages seeking comment.
Lakewood Church in Houston, run by Joel Osteen Ministries, confirmed that Collins, a longtime employee, was among those killed.
“Everybody loved her. She just had that kind of personality,” church spokesperson Donald Iloff Jr. said.
Collins had planned parties for the law firm and children’s birthday parties for the Arnold family in Hawaii, in Italy and at the University of Texas stadium, her social media posts show. She was also looking forward to her daughter’s wedding this year.
“She celebrated everything, whether it was something monumental or super ordinary. She loved deeply, cared deeply, showed up fully and gave of herself without hesitation,” friend Amie Mcdonald wrote in a social media post.
Hosmer, remembered by friends for his ever-present smile and love of pickleball, joined Arnold & Itkin in May as captain of their flight crew. A longtime pilot and flight instructor, he had registered a firm called Platinum Skies Aviation LLC in Texas in late 2024, online records show.
He was married with two sons, according to a GoFundMe set up on the family's behalf. Relatives confirmed his death to The Associated Press.
“To know Jake, as he was so affectionately called, was to know love, kindness, hospitality and true friendship,” the fundraising post said. “He had the kind of laugh that made you laugh just hearing it.”
The plane, a 2020 model, had made short trips in the days before the crash between Houston and Austin, Texas. Bangor International Airport is one of the closest U.S. refueling stops for private jets flying to Europe.
The cause of the crash has not been determined. Experts say the NTSB will likely focus on the approaching storm and questions about whether ice accumulating on the wings kept the plane from getting airborne, as has happened at least twice before on that model. However, the agency will consider all possible factors.
This image taken from video provided by WABI television, emergency services work on a scene of the Bombardier Challenger 600 crash at the Bangor Airport in Maine, late Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (WABI via AP)
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A crack in a damaged chemical tank in Southern California has eliminated the risk of a catastrophic explosion but it's still not safe enough for the remaining 16,000 residents living closest to the aerospace plant to go home, officials said Tuesday.
Crews were spraying water to keep cooling the tank that overheated last week, prompting the evacuation of 50,000 people in the Orange County city of Garden Grove. Most returned home after a crack formed over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, relieving pressure inside.
The evacuation zone remained the same on Tuesday morning, said Orange County Fire Capt. Brian Yau.
Crews worked overnight to ensure two other nearby tanks were neutralized and would not be affected by the compromised tank, he said, adding that material from one of these two tanks was transferred to another that has a neutralizing agent.
“They are moving material over to ensure that all threats have been eliminated,” Yau said.
Those threats include the risk of a very small explosion and potential spill, officials said.
Exposure to methyl methacrylate — a highly flammable chemical used to make plastics — can cause serious respiratory problems, neurological problems and irritation to the skin, eyes and throat, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The tank at the GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems plant contains 6,000 to 7,000 gallons (22,700 to 26,500 liters) of the chemical.
The interior cooled to 93 degrees F (33.9 degrees C), the county's fire division chief Craig Covey said Monday, down from 100 degrees (37.7 degrees C) a day earlier. The company said its technical specialists and the county fire authority have removed insulation from the tank to help cool it.
Health officials sought to reassure people who are returning to homes near the plant.
“There was no contamination. There were no fumes,” Orange County Health Director Regina Chinsio-Kwong said at Monday's news conference. “There was not a leak. So it should be, you should feel comfortable going home even if you’re across the street from that new zone line.”
The South Coast Air Quality Management District will monitor the air for several months and the EPA will be checking sewer and storm drains for spills, Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen said.
Garden Grove Unified School District said last week it was shutting a dozen schools through what was supposed to be the last day of the school year on Wednesday but later said only three would remain closed Tuesday. It was unclear if they would reopen before the school year ends this week.
At a parking lot at a large park in Fountain Valley, just southwest of Garden Grove, people sought refuge in an ad hoc shelter there or pitched tents outside. Other people gathered in the park to enjoy Memorial Day.
Kim Yen, a retiree who was still evacuated from her home two blocks from the plant, welcomed news that the worst was not expected.
“I am happy and many of us are happy,” she said Monday.
She said she's ready to go back but wants to be sure it’s safe first. She's also been worrying about the emergency workers, who she called “our heroes.”
As the tank heated up, the chemical converted from liquid to gas, ramping up the pressure and explosion risk, said Andrew Whelton, a Purdue University engineering professor who has studied environmental contamination. Some of the methyl methacrylate may already have hardened into a stable plastic similar to plexiglass, reducing the danger, he said.
The tank could eventually cool enough for crews to safely stabilize and drain the remaining material without triggering a spark or ignition, Whelton said.
However, he said there is still a risk of an explosion while the chemical remains hot and reactive. Temperatures need to fall closer to 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit (15.6 to 21.1 degrees C) before conditions are considered significantly safer, he said.
GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems makes cockpit windows, canopies and windshields for military and commercial aircraft. It employs about 16,000 people across 32 manufacturing sites in 12 countries, according to the company website.
“We apologize for the ongoing disruption this incident is causing and our priority remains its safe resolution, so that residents can return to their homes as quickly as possible,” the company said.
GKN Aerospace agreed in 2025 to pay state regulators more than $900,000 to settle violations involving recordkeeping, permitting issues and nitrogen oxide emissions, according to a report on the South Coast Air Quality Management District website.
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This story has been corrected to attribute a quote to TJ McGovern, interim fire chief of the Orange County Fire Authority, not to division chief Craig Covey.
Willingham reported from Boston. Contributing were Associated Press journalists Jamie Stengle in Dallas; Ethan Swope in Garden Grove, California; and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles.
Two evacuees sit in their pickup truck at a gas station within the evacuation zone in Stanton, Calif., Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
An aerial view shows a police checkpoint enforcing a road closure at the evacuation zone boundary in Anaheim, Calif., Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Jan De Jonge and fiancé Sher Stuckman set up a tent with their belonging and pet outside the Elks Lodge in Garden Grove, Calif., on Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
An evacuation map is displayed at the incident command post at the Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Water is sprayed on a damaged tank at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after the tank containing a chemical used to make plastic parts overheated Thursday. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
People walk outside Freedom Hall, an evacuation center in Fountain Valley, Calif., on Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
An American Red Cross volunteer walks outside Freedom Hall, an evacuation center in Fountain Valley, Calif.,on Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
People tend to their pets outside Freedom Hall, an evacuation center in Fountain Valley, Calif., on Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
