A voice was heard saying 'let there be light' in the cockpit recording of a private jet that crashed in heavy snow, killing seven of the eight on board. The Bombardier Challenger 650 business jet went down during takeoff from Bangor International Airport in Maine about 7.45pm on Sunday. Dramatic footage showed the wreckage of the plane upside-down on the runway. It remains unclear how the jet crashed. The sole survivor was a member of the crew who was seriously injured. Audio from the aircraft's radio recording, heard by the Daily Mail, included a voice saying 'let there be light' minutes before the crash.

It was unclear whether the eerie line was spoken by one of the pilots or an air-traffic controller, or what they were referring to. They may have been commenting on how Bangor's Runway 33 went from pitch-black to brightly lit after the runway lighting was switched on. Doorcam video showed a loud bang when the plane crashed but did not capture the plane itself. Other radio chatter included the pilots and air traffic control discussing low visibility in the winter storm and removing ice from the plane before takeoff. 

Less than two minutes after the tower cleared the plane for takeoff, they shouted, 'All traffic is stopped on the field! All traffic is stopped on the field!' Minutes later, another controller said: 'Aircraft upside down. We have a passenger aircraft upside down.' A witness claimed the plane lifted off the runway but then crashed back onto it and 'exploded'. Photos showed the destroyed aircraft smashed and flipped over on the runway with black smoke filling the air. The plane is registered to the Arnold & Itkin law firm in Houston, according to aviation records.

The firm is run by prominent personal injury lawyers Kurt Arnold and Jason Itkin, known for defending undocumented migrants. The Daily Mail understands neither of them were on the plane but it is unclear if other members of the firm were. The flight is believed to have been headed for Paris and had reportedly stopped in Maine to refuel before the nighttime journey across the Atlantic Ocean. The temperature was just 1F at the time of the crash - well below freezing - and Bangor had six to eight inches of snow on Sunday. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.

There has been widespread travel chaos across the US due to Winter Storm Fern, with 11,000 flights canceled. FAA weather cameras captured the clouded conditions at the airport around the time of the crash. A winter storm warning went into effect in Maine at 7pm and will remain until 3am on Tuesday. Forecasters have described the storm as catastrophic, as at least 24 states have declared a state of emergency. Heavy snow and dangerous ice have hit 34 states across the South, Midwest and Northeast.