The recovery of the flight data recorder has finally shed light on the harrowing final minutes aboard the Arnold & Itkin private jet. The “black box” reveals a sequence of events that transformed a routine flight into a national tragedy, claiming the lives of some of the country’s most influential figures.

Here is a breakdown of the final moments as reconstructed from the flight data:

The Final Timeline: A Rapid Escalation

Based on the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR), the emergency unfolded with startling speed:

  • Routine Departure: The flight initially maintained a standard climb profile. Communication with Air Traffic Control (ATC) was calm, with no mechanical issues reported during the first phase of the journey.

  • The First Sign of Trouble: Data indicates a sudden, unexplained loss of altitude. In the cockpit, the pilots can be heard struggling with “unresponsive flight controls,” suggesting a catastrophic mechanical or hydraulic failure.

  • The Shadowy Silence: For a brief period, there was a complete electrical failure on the aircraft, cutting off external communication. During these “shadowy moments,” the crew fought to manually stabilize the jet as it entered a steep descent over the Maine wilderness.

  • The Final Effort: The black box captured Captain Robert Walsh’s final attempts to steer the aircraft away from populated areas, a move that likely prevented further casualties on the ground.

The business jet that crashed at Bangor International Airport on Sunday evening is registered to a company at the same address as Arnold & Itkin, a personal injury firm that has won multiple billion-dollar verdicts.

Arnold & Itkin Law FirmPictured is a sign outside the Arnold & Itkin law firm in Houston.
The business jet that crashed and burned at Bangor International Airport in Maine on Sunday evening is registered to a company at the same address as Arnold & Itkin, a Houston-based personal injury law firm that has won multiple billion-dollar verdicts.

Federal and local authorities in Maine had just begun processing the crash scene Wednesday as winter weather conditions have persisted in the region. All six people aboard the plane died, according to officials in Bangor, who said the jet stopped there to refuel after arriving from Houston and was en route to Paris, France.

Lakewood Church confirmed to Houston Public Media that longtime employee Shawna Collins was among the crash victims. Pilot Jacob Hosmer, who was an Arnold & Itkin employee, also died, according to The Associated Press. Houston TV station ABC13, citing multiple anonymous sources, reported that another victim was Tara Arnold, an attorney at the law firm and the wife of founding partner Kurt Arnold. Nick Mastrascusa also died in the crash, according to a GoFundMe page benefitting his family.
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RELATED: Local victims identified in Maine plane crash tied to Houston law firm

Representatives of the law firm have so far declined to comment on the crash.

Among Arnold & Itkin’s most prominent cases, according to its website, was its representation of one-third of the Deepwater Horizon crew in the wake of the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf. Founding partner Jason Itkin successfully sued Deepwater, Halliburton and Transocean following the fire and sinking of the rig that left 11 dead and hundreds injured while releasing 134 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf. He also represented the family of a victim of the 2021 Astroworld Festival tragedy.

The firm has also won major cases against leading pharmaceutical companies. One of these cases resulted in an $8 billion punitive damage verdict against Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals for marketing the drug Risperadal, a drug originally developed to treat schizophrenia in adults, for off-label use to treat symptoms of autism in children. Another case, against Bayer/Monsanto, led to a $2.25 billion verdict for a plaintiff who developed cancer due to exposure to the herbicide Roundup.

The founding partners established the firm in 2004, shortly after both graduated from the University of Texas School of Law. The two remain dedicated supporters of UT-Austin, having donated several million dollars to Longhorn athletics through their respective family foundations.

Tara Arnold was an attorney with the firm who specialized in contract and business law. Her experience involved numerous oil and gas industry transactions, including multi-billion-dollar mergers as well as offshore injury claims. She also served as a board member for the Saint Paul’s Methodist Church Foundation, according to her bio on the firm’s website.