Jet in deadly flight may have had ‘trim issues’

HARTFORD, Conn. — A business jet may have experienced problems with its stability before severe roughness caused the death of a passenger, the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday.

The NTSB said it’s looking at a “reported trim issue,” a reference to adjustments that are made to an airplane’s control surfaces to ensure it is stable and level in flight. The agency initially reported that the plane experienced severe turbulence late Friday afternoon.

Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration instructed pilots flying the same model of Bombardier aircraft to take extra pre-flight measures after trim problems had been reported.

The Bombardier executive jet was traveling from Keene, New Hampshire, to Leesburg, Virginia, before diverting to Bradley International Airport in Connecticut.

Investigators will have more information after they’ve analyzed the flight data recorder, cockpit voice recorder and other information, such as weather at the time, the NTSB said.

Three passengers and two crew members were aboard. The person who died, identified as 55-year-old Dana Hyde of Cabin John, Maryland, was brought to a hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, where she was later pronounced dead.

The jet’s owner, Conexon, a company based in Kansas City, Missouri, said Hyde was not an employee of the company.

Turbulence is unstable air in the atmosphere, which continues to be a cause for injury for airline passengers despite safety improvements. But deaths from turbulence are extremely rare.

Trim problems can also be responsible buffeting or altitude changes.