Food trays and other stuff are scattered inside the cabin as Lufthansa Flight 469 from Austin, Texas, headed to Frankfurt, Germany, that experienced “significant turbulence” and was diverted to Washington Dulles International Airport, Virginia, where it landed safely Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Crews responded to the flight and took seven people to hospitals with injuries that were believed to be minor. (Ecaterina Fadhel/via AP Photo)
London: A business jet was struck by severe turbulence over New England, resulting in a rare death of a passenger and requiring the aircraft to divert to Bradley International Airport in Connecticut, authorities said on Saturday.
The FBI is now looking into the incident.
According to Sarah Sulick, a representative for the National Transportation Safety Board, five people were on board the Bombardier executive aircraft when it was shaken by turbulence late on Friday afternoon as it was en route from Keene, New Hampshire, to Leesburg, Virginia.
The degree of the aircraft’s damage was unclear, and the NTSB withheld information such as the victim’s seatbelt usage.
A Federal Aviation Administration website reveals that Conexon, a Kansas City, Missouri-based business, is the owner of the aircraft. The provider of high-speed internet in rural areas declined to respond on Saturday.
According to Sulick, NTSB officials were speaking with the two crew members and surviving passengers as part of their investigation into the fatal turbulence encounter. She said the NTSB’s main office received the cockpit speech and data recorders for analysis.
Data from Flight Aware shows that on Thursday, the plane took the reverse trip from Leesburg to Dillant/Hopkins.
The distance between Keene, New Hampshire, where the aircraft took off, and Bradley International is roughly 70 miles.
The Connecticut State Troopers reacted to a medical assistance request at Bradley International Airport on March 3, 2023, at around 3:49 PM. Then, an ambulance was used to take one sufferer to a nearby hospital.
“Our organisation is providing support as required, but the NTSB and the FBI are looking into the specifics of this event. Please get in touch with those organisations immediately if you need more information,’ a Connecticut State,” said Police spokesperson.
According to flight data, the aircraft landed in Keene, New Hampshire, at 3:35 pm, and then started descending along the Connecticut River. Prior to descending and landing around 3:45 p.m., it hit a peak altitude of 26,000 feet.
Despite advancements in flight safety over the years, turbulence, which is unstable air in the atmosphere, continues to be a risk factor for injuries to passengers.
Seven passengers were injured severely enough to require hospitalisation earlier this week after turbulence occurred on a Lufthansa Aircraft A330 during a flight from Texas to Germany.
The aircraft was rerouted to Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia. One of the travellers was Camila McConaughey, wife of Oscar victor Matthew McConaughey. She called it “chaos” and continued, “The storms kept coming.”
But fatalities are incredibly uncommon. In two weeks, a draught summary will be released.
Between 2009 and 2018, the NTSB found that more than a third of accidents on bigger commercial airlines were caused by turbulence.
A Hawaiian Airlines aircraft experienced severe turbulence in December, injuring 36 passengers. Days earlier, a second flight from Brazil was also rocked by turbulence, sending five passengers to the hospital in Houston.
There was no hint that the two weather events were connected. Due to the winter holidays, air travel is incredibly busy this week all over the globe.
When it encountered turbulence, the Hawaiian Airlines aircraft had just taken off from Phoenix and was en route to Honolulu.
