A prominent Beltway lawyer who once served on the 9/11 Commission was identified Monday as the woman who died after the business jet she was aboard hit heavy turbulence while flying over New England.
Connecticut State Troopers, one of the agencies investigating Friday’s emergency landing at Bradley International Airport just north of Hartford, released Dana J. Hyde’s name.
Hyde, 55, of Cabin John, Maryland, was taken by ambulance to Saint Francis Medical Center in Hartford, where she was pronounced dead, according to the agency.
Her body is being held at the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner while the FBI and the National Transportation Safety Board investigate what happened aboard the Bombardier executive jet that was flying from Keene, New Hampshire, to Leesburg, Virginia, before making an unexpected stop in Bradley.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration database, five people were aboard the private jet owned by Conexon, a company based in Kansas City, Missouri.
“We can confirm that the aircraft was owned by Conexon and that Dana Hyde was the wife of Conexon partner Jonathan Chambers,” company spokesperson Abby Carere said in an email. “Jonathan and his son were on the flight also and not injured in the incident. “
Conexon specialises in bringing high-speed internet to rural areas.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were interviewing the two crew members and two surviving passengers to determine whether they were wearing seat belts when the plane was hit by turbulence. The cockpit voice and data recorders from the plane were sent to NTSB headquarters for analysis.
According to The Associated Press, the FAA is investigating a “reported trim issue that occurred prior to the inflight upset,” which refers to adjustments made to an airplane’s control surfaces to ensure it is stable and level in flight.
Following reports of trim issues, the Federal Aviation Administration instructed pilots flying the same model of Bombardier aircraft to take additional pre-flight precautions last year.
On her LinkedIn profile, Hyde is listed as the co-chair of the Aspen Institute’s Partnership for an Inclusive Economy.
According to Jon Purves, a spokesman for the organisation, Hyde was a part-time consultant who served as co-chair of APIE from 2020 to 2021.
“During her time with us, Dana was a brilliant and generous colleague who worked closely with programs across the organization to build partnerships and enhance our collective work,” he said. “The thoughts of our entire Aspen Institute community are with Dana’s family and loved ones.”
According to her biography, Hyde previously served in both the Obama and Clinton administrations, as well as in private practise. She also served on the commission that investigated the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks from 2002 to 2004.
