The pilot of a single-engine airplane was killed Friday when the aircraft crashed at Bangor International Airport.

The pilot was the plane’s sole occupant, Bangor fire Chief Geoffrey Low said in a phone call Friday.

A screenshot of a video taken by 9-year-old Jaxon Cook shows the moment before a Cessna 185 crashed at Bangor International Airport Friday, killing the pilot. (Photo courtesy of Jaxon Cook)

Video of the crash taken by 9-year-old aviation enthusiast Jaxon Cook, of Vassalboro, shows the plane coming in to land. It banked left and gained altitude momentarily, before crashing into the grass. It is the first fatal crash to ever occur at the Bangor airport, authorities said.

Federal investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were on-scene Saturday to investigate the crash, an agency spokesperson said.

The crash was reported about 1:20 p.m., Low said, and the Air National Guard responded within two minutes. Bangor emergency crews also reported to the scene.

The runway was closed as officials investigated, but reopened about 4:30 p.m., according to airport spokeswoman Aimee Thibodeau. Approximately eight domestic flights and at least two private charter flights were impacted by the closure.

The identity of the pilot was not released Friday. The Federal Aviation Administration website said that the plane was a Cessna 185, a single-engine, six-seat aircraft.

The plane was registered with the FAA to Southern Aircraft Consultancy, a United Kingdom-based company that allows non-U.S. citizens to register aircrafts in the United States. The company did not immediately return a request for comment Saturday.

Initial reports that the plane was taking off were incorrect, according to eyewitness observers, flight tracking data and recordings of air traffic control communications.

The pilot was given clearance to land by the tower at 1:12 p.m, according to communications archived by LiveATC.net. Four minutes later, the controller asked the pilot to clarify his intentions.

“I’m doing a liftoff,” he replied, followed by something unintelligible. 

Walter Congdon, the president of the International 180/185 Club, said the pilot was most likely British and was performing what most American pilots would call a go-around to abort the landing and try again.

The pilot requested a wind check three minutes later and was told it was gusting up to 19 knots. Two minutes after that, crews were informed that the plane had crashed.

Congdon, who has been flying Cessna 185s for 40 years, said it was unclear whether the gusting wind would have been a contributing factor.

“It’s really going to depend on the pilot’s capabilities more than the airplane,” he said.

The plane’s tail number, confirmed by Thibodeau, shows that over the last week it flew from the U.K. to Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland and Labrador. It left an airport in the eastern Canadian province, headed for Bangor, about 9:20 a.m. Friday.

Ian Riley, a certified flight instructor in Maine, said the route the plane had followed is a common one used by expert pilots who are often paid to ferry planes across the Atlantic Ocean.

“If I had to guess, this was probably a pilot who specializes in ferrying aircraft and, almost certainly, they had specialized training,” Riley said.

Bangor police ask that anyone who captured footage of the crash to share it with them. Videos can be uploaded through a portal on the city’s website.

Reuben M. Schafir is a Report for America corps member who writes about Indigenous communities for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram.