US small plane crash declared intentional

A Jordanian student pilot is believed to have intentionally crashed a small twin-engine plane in the US state of Connecticut, killing himself and injuring his instructor, the police said.

The victim identified as Feras M. Freitekh, 28, was a Jordanian national with a student visa.

He was flying the Piper PA 34 light aircraft which crashed on Tuesday on a busy road in East Hartford, near the front gate of jet-engine maker Pratt and Whitney's headquarters, raising fears the crash was an act of terrorism, CNN reported on Wednesday.

The flight instructor, who survived the crash, told investigators that he got into an altercation with Freitekh, which resulted in a struggle in the cockpit, an official said.

Freitekh came to the US in 2012 on a visa to learn how to fly. But he did not have a mailing address, so he used an Orland Hills address, even though the police said he never lived there.

"To our knowledge, the deceased pilot has never been a resident or been in Orland Hills," a police official said.

The instructor, Arian Prevalla is in a critical condition. Mark Poole, owner of Meriden Aviation Center and a former student of Prevalla's, said Prevalla handles most of the area's training of twin-engine aircraft.

The official added that it appeared the student pilot was frustrated with his family and said he was being forced to become a pilot.

The FBI, however, said that no recorders or video were on board the plane, meaning there was no direct evidence to corroborate what the flight instructor said.

--IANS

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