A plane crash in East Hartford that killed a student pilot and left his instructor with serious injuries appears to have been the result of an intentional act, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
East Hartford police Lt. Josh Litwin said Wednesday investigators had concluded that the crash Tuesday afternoon was "an intentional act," but noted that they hadn't been able to determine a motive.
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"Nothing's off the table," Litwin told reporters.
The FBI and NTSB are leading a joint investigation after the twin-engine Piper PA 34 crashed with the two men aboard during a training flight around 3:30 p.m. near the Connecticut headquarters of military jet-engine maker Pratt & Whitney.
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The plane was on its final approach to Brainard Airport when it crashed on Main Street and burst into flames, according to the FAA.
A senior law enforcement official familiar with the investigation told NBC News the crash appears to have been a case of suicide, not terrorism. The official said the student pilot, identified as Feras M. Freitekh, was arguing with his instructor.
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According to the official, the flight instructor told investigators that Freitekh was at the controls at the time of the crash. Some kind of argument or struggle for the controls ensued, the official said, and the plain crashed. The instructor did not know why it happened.
The flight instructor was identified as Arian Prevalla, the owner of American Flight Academy in Hartford -- formerly known as Connecticut Flight Academy. Prevalla escaped from the burning plane and was in fair condition Thursday at Yale New Haven Bridgeport Hospital's burn unit, a hospital spokesman said.
He is expected to survive and is speaking with investigators, officials said.
Freitekh's body remained in the charred plane Wednesday night. Police said Wednesday the body is being treated as evidence.
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Illinois police said Wednesday Freitekh was in the U.S. on a student visa to obtain his pilot license. Orland Hills Police Chief Thomas Scully said Freitekh used his father's friend's local address but that the student pilot had never been to Orland Hills.
"He would come from Jordan directly to the flight school and his dad continued to make money to pay for his training,” Chief Thomas Scully said. “When he ran out he would go back to Jordan."
Police searched Freitek's Hartford-area home but did not find anything to indicate any terrorist interests or sympathies, a senior federal official told NBC News' Pete Williams. He was also not on any terrorism watch list, the official added. The FBI will seek a search warrant for any computers the student pilot had to see what clues they might hold, if any.
Pratt & Whitney released a statement saying the crash did not appear to involve any of its employees or contractors.
Main Street remains closed between Willow Street Extension and Ensign Street until further notice.
The crash was also near American Eagle Financial Credit Union, which will be closed to the public until the street reopens.
While investigators from several agencies are there, police said they want to reassure neighbors that the scene is safe and secure.
Litwin said two people who were in a car at the time of the crash were also transported to the hospital but they were not linked to the airplane crash. A mother and her three daughters who also witnessed the crash have all been released from the hospital.
Investigators said it's fortunate there were no additional deaths.
"The path that the plane took could have been much worse, so we're fortunate in that sense," said Scott Sansome, of East Hartford police.
Photo Credit: Kenatha Abernaty/NBC Connecticut
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