A passenger died after a business jet was buffeted by severe turbulence over New England, forcing it to divert to Bradley International Airport in Connecticut, according to officials.
The incident happened late Friday afternoon. The Bombardier executive jet had five people onboard when it was shaken by turbulence while traveling from Keene, New Hampshire, to Leesburg, Virginia, said a spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Sarah Sulick.
The National Transportation Safety Board, however, did not provide details including whether the victim was wearing a seatbelt or the extent of the damage to the aircraft, The Associated Press reported.
Connecticut state police confirmed one person was taken to a hospital but didn’t provide further details. According to a Federal Aviation Administration database, the aircraft is owned by Conexon, a company based in Kansas City, Missouri.
An NTSB spokesperson said the board’s investigators were interviewing the two crew members and surviving passengers as part of a probe into the deadly encounter with turbulence, The Associated Press reported.
The jet’s cockpit voice and data recorders were sent to NTSB headquarters for analysis, she said.