A woman who died when the private jet she was on board hit severe turbulence had served in prominent posts in two presidential administrations, it has emerged.
Officials identified the deceased as 55-year-old Dana Hyde from Cabin John, Maryland, US.
Ms Hyde was brought to a hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, where she was later pronounced dead after the tragic incident, Connecticut State Police said Monday.
The chief medical examiner’s office found that she died from blunt-force injuries.
The jet’s owner, Conexon, based in Kansas City, Missouri, confirmed that Hyde was the wife of a company partner, Jonathan Chambers, who was also on the plane with his son.
Neither dad nor son was hurt, the company said.
Ms Hyde served as counsel for the 9/11 Commission, formally known as the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, and other posts during a career in Washington, DC.
She also served as a special assistant to the president for cabinet affairs and a special assistant to the deputy US attorney general during President Bill Clinton's administration.
Ms Hyde also held the position of a senior policy adviser at the State Department and associate director at the Office of Management and Budget during President Barack Obama's administration.
Earlier in her career, Ms Hyde had practised law at WilmerHale in London and in Washington, DC at Zuckerman Spaeder, while she also was a partner at the venture capital firm JVP.
In an email that her husband, Mr Chambers sent to Conexon employees and clients, he gave more details on the situation.
“We were returning home when the plane suddenly convulsed in a manner that violently threw the three of us,” he wrote, according to the Boston Globe.
“My wife was badly injured. The pilots made an emergency landing. An ambulance was waiting. Dana was taken to a hospital, but the injuries were too severe and she died that night,” he said.
“Dana was the best person I ever knew. She was a wonderful mother to our boys and she was accomplished professionally. She loved and was beloved.”
On Monday, investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board said they are looking into “a reported trim issue” that occurred on the jet before the turbulence.
Trim issues occur when a plane “unintentionally exceeds the parameters normally experienced in line operations or training,” according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Turbulence is “air movement created by atmospheric pressure, jet streams, the air around mountains, cold or warm weather fronts or thunderstorms,” according to the FAA.
“It can be unexpected and can happen when the sky appears to be clear,” according to the FAA. “Turbulence can give an aeroplane a sudden jolt that can injure passengers and flight crew members who aren’t buckled in.”
An investigation into the circumstances under which the incident occurred is ongoing.
