Whirring” sounds filled the air as the propellers began to spin, but the engine’s roar was absent. In the cockpit, there was no need for thick aviation headsets designed for noise cancellation. Communication with the person beside was possible even without a microphone.

As snow from a massive storm began to fall in Bangor, Maine, on Sunday night, six people who had stopped to refuel a Paris-bound luxury jet prepared for takeoff. None would survive the crash that followed,