WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. investigators believe a Jordanian student pilot was trying to kill himself when he crashed a small plane in Connecticut this week but do not believe he was affiliated with militant groups, two federal officials familiar with the probe said on Thursday.

Wreckage is removed from the scene of a twin-engine plane that struck a utility pole and burst into flames in downtown East Hartford, Connecticut U.S., October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Michelle McLoughlin

Feras Freitekh, 28, was with a flight instructor in a twin-engine Piper PA-34 Seneca when the plane slammed into a utility pole on Tuesday and burst into flames in East Hartford. Freitekh died in the crash and the instructor was badly injured.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said on Wednesday that its initial investigation indicated the crash was “the result of an intentional act,” and the FBI joined the probe.

Investigators came to believe that the crash was a suicide attempt by Freitekh after speaking with the instructor, said the two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

There is no evidence Freitekh shouted religious statements before the crash and nothing else pointing to terrorism, the officials said. Freitekh had not been known to U.S. intelligence agencies.

East Hartford Police Lieutenant Joshua Litwin said at a news conference on Wednesday that he did not know who was flying the plane at the time of the crash. The aircraft had two sets of controls, allowing either person to pilot the plane.

Freitekh and the instructor, Arian Prevalla, argued and fought for control before the crash, the Hartford Courant reported on Wednesday, citing unidentified sources.

East Hartford police and the FBI field office in Connecticut could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday.

The crash occurred across the street from the headquarters of aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp. Investigators looked into whether the manufacturer was possibly targeted.

Investigators, however, believe the plane was on the final approach to a small airport in East Hartford and had been cleared by air traffic controllers to land, one of the federal officials said.

Freitekh became certified last year as a private pilot for single-engine planes, according to Federal Aviation Administration records.</s>The FBI is investigating an “intentional” crash of a small plane in Connecticut that killed a Jordanian student and injured an American flight instructor, officials and US media said Wednesday.

The plane exploded in a fireball on Tuesday in East Hartford, about 120 miles (192 kilometers) northeast of New York. The flight instructor, who survived the crash, told investigators it was not an accident, The New York Times reported.

The dead person was identified as trainee pilot, Feras Freitekh, 28, who the Times said was Jordanian. He was issued a private pilot certificate last year and certified to fly a single-engine plane, the newspaper said.

The doomed Piper PA-34 was on its final approach to East Hartford airport when it crashed, knocking out power lines, US media reported.

“The crash is the result of an intentional act,” the National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday.

The Jordanian embassy in Washington said it was in touch with US authorities over “the tragic incident.”

Police said the plane crashed near Pratt and Whitney, an aerospace company that manufactures engines for military and commercial aircraft.

The company has 33,500 employees worldwide and generated revenues of $14 billion last year, according to its website.

FBI investigators were combing the crash site, Lieutenant Josh Litwin of East Hartford police told reporters.

“This plane crash was intentional,” he said. “The circumstances beyond that are still being investigated.”

The Hartford Courant newspaper said the crash appears to have been a case of suicide, reporting that nothing had yet been found to indicate terrorism.

“Unfortunately, this looks, at this point, like an individual who wanted to end his life and used this event to do it,” it quoted a federal official as saying on condition of anonymity in reference to the student pilot.

The student and his instructor argued shortly before the crash, US media said.

An American mother and three daughters aged five to 17 — who were in a vehicle close to where the plane crashed — were taken to hospital but have since been released, shaken but not injured, police said.

Television footage showed the plane’s wreckage in flames on the street.

“It was like a movie scene,” one witness told NBC television.</s>The pilot of a small plane that crashed near an aerospace factory in Connecticut, killing a passenger, reportedly confessed that the crash wasn’t an accident.

The FBI is now investigating whether the Tuesday crash in East Hartford was intentional, law enforcement officials told The New York Times. The Piper PA 34 crashed near a Pratt & Whitney around 3:40 p.m., on its final approach to Hartford-Brainard Airport. Officials said the small plane took off from the airport’s flight school.(nydailynews.com)…[+]</s>EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — The pilot of a small plane that crashed on a busy road near the headquarters of military jet-engine maker Pratt & Whitney, killing a passenger, told police detectives that the wreck was intentional, the mayor said Wednesday.

East Hartford Mayor Marcia Leclerc told The Associated Press that the badly burned pilot told authorities the crash Tuesday was not an accident, but she cautioned that investigators have not confirmed that information.

“It’s troubling,” Leclerc said. “But I also know that stories change and information can be skewed. We’re waiting for the facts to come out.”

The FBI, Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

Authorities said a student pilot and an instructor were trying to land the Piper PA-34 Seneca at Brainard Airport in Hartford when it struck a utility pole in East Hartford and crashed onto the road at around 4 p.m., bursting into flames. The crash site is a short distance from the airport, across the Connecticut River and in line with the runway.

The police chief in East Hartford asked the FBI to assist in the investigation because it happened so close to Pratt & Whitney.

“The path that the plane took could have been much worse. So we’re very fortunate in that sense,” Chief Scott Sansom said.

Police say the pilot was hospitalized with serious burns but was talking with investigators. The passenger was in the wreckage and presumed dead. Police haven’t released names.

Two people in a minivan that came close to colliding with the plane were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

Authorities urged people to avoid the area as investigators continued their work.

“This is a very complex investigation with a lot of different agencies and a lot of different moving parts,” fire Chief John Oates said.</s>EAST HARTFORD, Conn. | The pilot of a small plane that crashed on a busy road near the headquarters of military jet-engine maker Pratt & Whitney, killing a passenger, told police detectives that the wreck was intentional, the mayor said Wednesday.

East Hartford Mayor Marcia Leclerc told The Associated Press that the badly burned pilot told authorities the crash Tuesday was not an accident, but she cautioned that investigators have not confirmed that information.

“It’s troubling,” Leclerc said. “But I also know that stories change and information can be skewed. We’re waiting for the facts to come out.”

Smoke pours from the smoldering remains of a small plane that crashed on Main Street in East Hartford Conn., Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016. Authorities said at least one person is dead and another is injured after a small airplane crashed near the Connecticut River. (Jim Michaud/Journal Inquirer via AP) Firefighters use foam to extinguish the fire of a demolished aircraft after the plane crashed on Main Street in East Hartford Conn., Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016. Authorities said at least one person is dead and another is injured after a small airplane crashed near the Connecticut River. (Jim Michaud/Journal Inquirer via AP) Smoke pours from the smoldering remains of a small plane that crashed on Main Street in East Hartford Conn., Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016. Authorities said at least one person is dead and another is injured after a small airplane crashed near the Connecticut River. (Jim Michaud/Journal Inquirer via AP) A woman who was on the ground is taken away after a plane crash on Main Street in East Hartford Conn., Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016. Authorities said one person is dead and another is injured after a small airplane crashed near the Connecticut River. (Jim Michaud/Journal Inquirer via AP)

The FBI, Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

Authorities said a student pilot and an instructor were trying to land the Piper PA-34 Seneca at Brainard Airport in Hartford when it struck a utility pole in East Hartford and crashed onto the road at around 4 p.m., bursting into flames. The crash site is a short distance from the airport, across the Connecticut River and in line with the runway.

The police chief in East Hartford asked the FBI to assist in the investigation because it happened so close to Pratt & Whitney.

“The path that the plane took could have been much worse. So we’re very fortunate in that sense,” Chief Scott Sansom said.

Police say the pilot was hospitalized with serious burns but was talking with investigators. The passenger was in the wreckage and presumed dead. Police haven’t released names.

Two people in a minivan that came close to colliding with the plane were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

Authorities urged people to avoid the area as investigators continued their work.

“This is a very complex investigation with a lot of different agencies and a lot of different moving parts,” fire Chief John Oates said.</s>EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — A flight instructor and a student pilot had an altercation inside the cockpit of a small plane, and the instructor was unable to regain control from the trainee before the plane crashed near the headquarters of a military jet engine manufacturer, killing the student, a U.S. official familiar with the investigation into what happened said Wednesday.

The crash appeared to have been a suicide attempt by the student, and terrorism was ruled out, the official, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

The Piper PA-34 Seneca crashed with the two men aboard during a training flight Tuesday in East Hartford near the headquarters of Pratt & Whitney while returning to Brainard Airport in Hartford, authorities said. The flight instructor was badly burned but survived.

The instructor described the student pilot as disgruntled about learning to be a pilot, the U.S. official said.

The flight instructor is Arian Prevalla, and the student was Feras Freitekh, said a law enforcement official, who wasn’t authorized to disclose the information and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Prevalla’s social media pages indicate he’s president of the American Flight Academy and a managing member of the Hartford Jet Center, both based in Hartford. The pages say he is from Albania and lives in Hartford.

On LinkedIn, Prevalla said he received a bachelor’s degree in aviation science from Mountain State University, a now-defunct university in Beckley, West Virginia.

Freitekh lived in the Chicago suburb of Orland Hills since 2013 and received a private pilot certificate last year from the Federal Aviation Administration, public records show.

Safety officials said the FBI was taking over as lead investigator of the crash because of indications it was an intentional act.

The National Transportation Safety Board said its initial investigation indicated the crash was deliberate. An agency spokesman said he couldn’t elaborate on the basis of that finding.

The survivor told police detectives it was not an accident, Democratic Mayor Marcia Leclerc said.

“It’s troubling,” Leclerc said. “But I also know that stories change and information can be skewed. We’re waiting for the facts to come out.”

Authorities said the student and the instructor were about to land at Brainard Airport when the plane struck a utility pole and crashed onto a road Tuesday afternoon, bursting into flames. The crash site is a short distance from the airport, across the Connecticut River and in line with the runway.

Police Chief Scott Sansom said the path the plane took “could have been much worse.”

“So we’re very fortunate in that sense,” he said.

The police chief initially asked the FBI to assist in the investigation because it happened so close to Pratt & Whitney. The company said its operations weren’t affected by the crash and none of its employees was involved.

Police said Prevalla was hospitalized with serious burns and is expected to live. The medical examiner’s office was expected to perform an autopsy on Freitekh.

In Hartford, local, state and federal authorities were investigating an apartment in connection with the plane crash, police Deputy Chief Brian Foley said. He did not release further details, including why the apartment was being investigated.

Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, briefed by the state police commissioner, said he had not decided to beef up security anywhere in light of the crash.

“I’m not aware of any specific threats associated with this action,” Malloy said. “If I was, then we would take those steps.”

Associated Press writers Joan Lowy in Washington, Denise Lavoie in Boston and Michael Melia in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.</s>The flight instructor, who survived the crash, told first responders and investigators he got into an altercation with the student pilot, which resulted in a struggle in the cockpit, a US official with direct knowledge of the investigation said.

The official said it appeared that the student pilot, whose name was not released, was frustrated with his family and had said he was being forced to become a pilot.

No recorders or video were on board the small plane, meaning there is no direct evidence to corroborate what the flight instructor said. But based on initial interviews, authorities believe the instructor's account is truthful and that the student pilot intentionally crashed the plane.

The instructor, identified as Arian Prevalla, is in critical condition, Bridgeport Hospital spokesman John Cappiello said Wednesday. He said Prevalla handles most of the area's training of twin-engine aircraft. Mark Poole, owner of Meriden Aviation Center , was a former student of Prevalla's.He said Prevalla handles most of the area's training of twin-engine aircraft. Poole said Prevalla's business model focused on international students obtaining visas and providing training for commercial airline pilots. Law enforcement officials are trying to get a search warrant to investigate the student pilot's computer. They also plan to interview his family. The FBI, National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration and Connecticut State Police are all investigating. Local law enforcement called in the FBI, citing infrastructure concerns due to the crash's proximity to Pratt & Whitney.</s>NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said on Wednesday it believes a small plane crash in East Hartford, Connecticut, was due to an intentional act and is transferring the investigation to the FBI.

The plane slammed into a utility pole and burst into flames on Tuesday, killing a flight student aboard and leaving an instructor with serious burns.

In a press release, the NTSB said its initial investigation indicated that the crash was "the result of an intentional act."

A U.S. national security official identified the student as Feras Freitekh. Federal Aviation Administration records showed he lived in Orland Hills, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, and earned a private pilot certificate last year.

The security official, who requested anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation, said law enforcement would look into whether Freitekh had ties to terrorism. The official said Freitekh was not known to U.S. intelligence.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx declined to say if the crash was an act of terrorism. The FBI "is going to dig into the facts," he told reporters on Wednesday.

The instructor and Freitekh were the only people aboard the plane when it crashed at about 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT) on Tuesday during flight training that originated at the Hartford-Brainard Airport, local police said.

The instructor, who has not been identified, is being treated at the Bridgeport Hospital's burn center, according to East Hartford Mayor Marcia Leclerc.

The New York Times, citing unnamed federal officials, reported that the instructor had told investigators that Freitekh deliberately crashed the plane.

East Hartford Police Lieutenant Joshua Litwin said at a news conference on Wednesday that the plane had two sets of controls, but that he did not know which person was flying the plane at the time of the crash.</s>Officials in a Chicago suburb say there is no record a student pilot killed in a small plane crash in Connecticut ever lived in the village, even though it's been identified as his home.

Orland Hills Mayor Kyle Hastings says there is no record Feras Freitekh, a Jordanian, has ever visited the village. However, he said Freitekh's father, who wasn't named, worked for a container company in the nearby town of Alsip.

Police Chief Thomas Scully says the father became friends with the owner of a business, who allowed mail for the father and son to be delivered to his Orland Hills home. He says the father was living in the container firm's warehouse at the time.

Scully says the homeowner, who is a U.S. citizen, has lived in the home since 2004 and was forthcoming when questioned by authorities. He added authorities don't know where Freitekh's father currently lives.

A U.S. official familiar with the investigation into a Connecticut plane crash that killed one person says it appears to have been a case of suicide, not terrorism.

The official says the flight instructor described the student pilot to police investigators as disgruntled about learning to be a pilot. The official says the instructor told police there was an altercation in the cockpit during their training flight, and the instructor was unable to regain control of the plane from the student pilot.

The official tells The Associated Press that instructor Arian Prevalla survived the crash Tuesday in East Hartford near jet-engine maker Pratt & Whitney, while student Feras Freitekh was killed. The official wasn't authorized to disclose the information and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Prevalla's social media pages indicate he is president of the American Flight Academy. They say he is originally from Albania and now lives in Hartford.

The National Transportation Safety Board says the FBI is taking over the investigation into a fatal plane crash in Connecticut because of indications that it could have been a criminal act.

The NTSB said Wednesday that its initial investigation indicates Tuesday's crash in East Hartford was intentional. An agency spokesman, Terry Williams, said he couldn't elaborate on the basis of that finding.

One person aboard the plane was killed and another survived when the Piper PA-34 Seneca crashed Tuesday afternoon as they were trying to land at Brainard Airport in Hartford. It crashed near the headquarters of Pratt & Whitney, which makes military and commercial jet engines.

Police say there were two sets of controls aboard a small plane that crashed in Connecticut with a flight instructor and student on board, killing one of them.

One person was killed and another survived when the Piper PA-34 Seneca crashed Tuesday afternoon as they were trying to land at Brainard Airport in Hartford, just across the Connecticut River from the crash site. It wasn't immediately clear whether the instructor or student had died.

Mayor Marcia Leclerc (leh-CLAIR') told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the survivor told local detectives the crash was not an accident. Leclerc cautioned that the information has not been confirmed.

Authorities say a student pilot and an instructor were trying to land the Piper PA-34 Seneca at Brainard Airport in Hartford when it struck a utility pole and crashed around 4 p.m. Tuesday, bursting into flames. The pilot is hospitalized with serious burns and the passenger is presumed dead.

Police say the pilot was hospitalized with serious burns and the passenger was in the wreckage and presumed dead. Police haven't released names.
Jordanian student pilot Feras Freitekh kills himself and attempts to kill his flight instructor, when their small Piper PA-34 Seneca airplane crashes in East Hartford Connecticut. Investigators conclude the crash was an intentional act motivated by suicide based on the surviving instructor who said there was an argument and struggle for control. The FBI investigates. Reuters