NTSB investigating in-flight turbulence that left 1 passenger dead
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating after a passenger died when a jet encountered severe turbulence Friday and had to divert from its route to land in Connecticut. The passenger was identified as Dana Hyde, a 55-year-old woman from Cabin John, Maryland, police said on Monday.
Five people were on board the Bombardier CL30 jet, which was flying from the Dillant-Hopkins Airport in New Hampshire to the Leesburg Executive Airport in Virginia.
According to the NTSB, the turbulence resulted in "fatal injuries to a passenger." The plane was diverted to Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, and landed at around 4 p.m. EST.
Connecticut State Troopers responded to a medical assist call at the airport when the plane landed, the NTSB said Monday. Hyde was then transported in an ambulance to Saint Francis Medical Center in Hartford, where she was later pronounced dead, according to the agency. The Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Center identified her body.
It's not clear what injuries occurred. No information was provided about the conditions of the other passengers.
In a statement emailed to CBS News Saturday, the company, Conexon, an internet services provider, said it owned the plane, but noted that the victim was not a Conexon employee. On Monday, Conexon confirmed that Hyde was the wife of Jonathan Chambers, a Conexon partner, in a separate statement to CBS News. Chambers and his son were also on the jet, according to the company. Neither of them were injured in the incident.
"We ask for privacy for the family members of those involved," Conexon said in its original statement Saturday. "We have no further details of the incident at this time."
Hyde was a part-time consultant to the Aspen Institute, an international nonprofit organization focused on education and policy studies, according to its website, which is based in Washington, D.C. In a statement, a spokesperson for the organization told CBS News on Monday that while employed as a consultant there, Hyde served as co-chair of the Aspen Partnership for an Inclusive Economy (APIE) between 2020 and 2021.
"During her time with us, Dana was a brilliant and generous colleague who worked closely with programs across the organization to build partnerships and enhance our collective work," the spokesperson said. "The thoughts of our entire Aspen Institute community are with Dana's family and loved ones."
The NTSB said Sunday that the plane was "secured" at Bradley Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, and that investigators had removed the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is also investigating the incident.
On Wednesday, seven people were hospitalized after a Lufthansa flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Dulles International Airport in Virginia due to turbulence. The flight from Austin, Texas, bound for Frankfurt, Germany, was diverted after the plane experienced "severe turbulence" while over Tennessee, the FAA said.
The plane was carrying 172 passengers and 12 crew members aboard, including actor Matthew McConaughey and his wife, CBS News learned.
