WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. (AP) – Severe turbulence rocks a business jet over New England in the northeastern United States, killing a rare passenger and forcing the plane to divert to Bradley International Airport , Connecticut authorities reported on Saturday.
The Bombardier plane was carrying five people when it encountered turbulence on Friday afternoon while traveling from Keene, New Hampshire, to Leesburg, Virginia, a spokeswoman said in English. of the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Sarah Sulick.
It was not immediately clear what damage the plane might have sustained and the NTSB did not provide details, such as whether the victim was wearing a seatbelt.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration database, the plane belonged to Conexon, a company based in Kansas City, Missouri. The company – which specializes in bringing fiber optics to rural communities to provide them with high-speed internet access – declined to comment on Saturday.
NTSB investigators were interviewing the two surviving crew members and passengers. The plane’s cockpit voice and data recorders were sent to NTSB headquarters for analysis, Sulick added.
Turbulence, which is unstable air currents in the atmosphere, continues to hurt airline passengers despite improvements in aviation safety over the years.
Earlier this week, seven people were so injured they had to be taken to hospitals after a Lufthansa Airbus A330 experienced turbulence on a flight from Texas to Germany. The plane was diverted to Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
However, fatalities due to turbulence are extremely rare.
“I don’t remember the last turbulence fatality,” said Robert Sumwalt, former NTSB chairman and executive director of the Center for Aviation and Aerospace Safety at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Turbulence accounted for more than a third of accidents on the largest commercial airlines between 2009 and 2018, according to the NTSB.