Dana Hyde, a former White House official, died on Saturday after sustaining injuries on board a business jet that experienced severe turbulence while in the air. The jet, which was traveling from New Hampshire to Virginia, was forced to make an emergency landing at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut.
Four other people were on board the plane, including Hyde’s husband, Jonathan Chambers, and son, and the two others were crew members. Chambers and his son weren’t injured in the incident. The business jet was owned by Conexon, where Hyde’s husband serves on the executive team as a partner.
After the plane made its emergency landing, Dana Hyde was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead as a result of blunt-force injuries. Her body is being held at the chief medical examiner’s office as investigations by the NTSB continue. Hyde was just 55 years old at the time of her death.
Abby Carere, a spokesperson for Conexon, confirmed in an email that the plane ‘was owned by Conexon and that Dana Hyde was the wife of Conexon partner Jonathan Chambers’ – she also confirmed that Jonathan and his son were on the flight but not injured. The company declined to comment any further.
As of right now, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the incident to fully understand what went wrong and how they can avoid something like this happening again. It’s unclear at the moment if Dana Hyde was wearing a seatbelt.
Over the next few weeks, the NTSB and FBI will review voice and data recorders from the cockpit of the jet, as well as weather data and interviews from the other four passengers (Jonathan, his son, and the two crew members). While turbulence is a common occurrence when flying, deaths are extremely rare.
According to a report by the Associated Press, the NTSB is currently looking into an alleged ‘trim issue’ with the jet – which should’ve resulted in pilots taking extra pre-flight and precautionary measures to avoid issues like this. It’s still unclear if that was the problem, but it’s something they’re currently investigating.
Who Was Dana Hyde? A Look Back at Her Career
Some of you might be wondering who Dana Hyde is, but she’s actually had quite an incredible career as a prominent D.C. lawyer. She served as a White House special assistant to the Deputy Attorney General under former President Bill Clinton and also served as Counsel to the 9/11 Commission from 2002-2004.
Under former President Barack Obama, she served eight years as “Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), Associate Director at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary of State,” according to her biography.
Most recently, she served as a chairman of the Aspen Institute’s Partnership for an Inclusive Economy between 2020 and 2021 and was also a part-time consultant for the organization. She’s remembered as a ‘brilliant’ and ‘generous’ individual by some of her former colleagues, including Jon Purves of APIE.
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“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. The thoughts of our entire Aspen Institute community are with Dana’s family and loved ones,” said Purves, according to NBC News.
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