Passenger dies after severe turbulence on private commercial jet, aviation officials say

(CNN) Aviation officials said one person was killed in a violent crash on a private business jet en route to Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, on Friday.

A Bombardier CL30 jet en route to Leesburg Executive Airport in Virginia was diverted to a Connecticut airport at 4 p.m. Friday after “experiencing severe turbulence,” the Federal Aviation Administration wrote in a statement. CNN

That crash “resulted in fatal injuries” to one passenger. The National Transportation Safety Board wrote on Twitter.

Three passengers and two crew members were aboard the private jet, the NTSB wrote in a statement sent to CNN. The status of other people is not known.

According to a statement from the Connecticut Airport Authority, there was no impact on airport operations.

The Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner was scheduled to perform an autopsy on the passenger Saturday, a spokeswoman told CNN. The deceased was not officially identified and no other information was given about them.

The FAA, NTSB and FBI are investigating the incident, according to a statement from the FAA and Connecticut State Police.

“Investigators removed the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder and continue to collect information from the flight crew, operator and other passengers,” the NTSB wrote in a statement.

The NTSB will issue a preliminary report in two to three weeks, the agency wrote in a statement.

Yes, violence can lead to death.

Turbulent air movement can give the plane a sudden shake and can be especially dangerous for people who aren’t wearing seat belts, according to the FAA.

In the year From 2009 to 2021, 146 people on Class 121 carriers — regular commercial airlines — suffered a “serious injury” from turbulence, an injury requiring hospitalization for more than two days, resulting in broken bones, significant bleeding or other damage, including internal organs; or involves a significant burn, according to FAA data.

Of the 146 serious injuries, 80% were crew members.

There have been no violence-related deaths on Section 121 carriers since 2009, according to NTSB data. In the year In a 2009 CNN article, the administration announced that three people had died in riot-related accidents since 1980.

However, the private jet involved in Friday’s fatal crash is considered a Class 91 carrier, a general aviation category that includes a variety of private aircraft, NTSB spokeswoman Sarah Taylor Sulick told CNN.

There have been 38 turbulence-related deaths involving Class 91 aircraft since 2009, and in nearly all of those cases, the turbulence resulted in a fatal crash, according to NTSB data.

While there have been no commercial fatalities due to violence in over a decade, it can still pose serious risks.

Sarah Nelson, president of the United Flight Attendants and Flight Attendants Association, which represents 50,000 flight attendants at 20 airlines, told CNN last year that flight attendants were more likely to be injured pushing carts weighing about 300 pounds.

“We’ve had flight attendants thrown to the ceiling and many times they’ve come back and broken their legs. We’ve had people who lost their legs or were disabled or injured because of unexplained violence in the aisle. It put them out of work for years,” she said.

Seven people were taken to hospitals after a crash on a Lufthansa flight from Texas to Germany last week, an airport spokesman said. A passenger on the plane described the plane as moving like a roller coaster.

Passenger Susan Zimmerman said, “During dinner service, there was a sudden cut in wind, the plane increased altitude, and then we fell 1,000 feet.” “After a five-second free fall from the top of a roller coaster, plates and glassware were on the ceiling, and my bag on the floor flew right behind me.”

And in December, at least 36 people were injured on a Hawaiian Airlines flight, 20 of whom were taken to the emergency room, when their plane experienced mid-flight turbulence, officials said.