1 Dead After Business Jet Encounters Severe Turbulence

A passenger on a plane that was diverted to Bradley International Airport after a medical emergency on Friday has died and the National Transportation Safety Board said it was related to turbulence.

Five people were aboard the Bombardier executive jet that was shaken by turbulence late Friday afternoon while traveling from Keene, New Hampshire, to Leesburg, Virginia, said Sarah Sulick, a spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board.

The extent of the damage to the aircraft was unclear and the NTSB did not provide details including whether the victim was wearing a seatbelt.

Connecticut State Police said they were called to the airport at about 3:50 p.m. for a medical assist after a private plane landed at Bradley.

A person onboard was taken to a nearby hospital after suffering a medical emergency. The NTSB later said a passenger on the plane had died. The person’s identity has not been released.

The jet is owned by Conexon, a company based in Kansas City, Missouri, according to a Federal Aviation Administration database. The company, which brings high-speed internet to rural communities, declined comment Saturday.

NTSB investigators were interviewing the two crew members and surviving passengers as part of a probe into the deadly encounter with turbulence, Sulick said. The jet’s cockpit voice and data recorders were sent to NTSB headquarters for analysis, she said.

Turbulence, which is unstable air in the atmosphere, remains a cause for injury for airline passengers despite airline safety improvements over the years.