Challenger 300 passenger dies in turbulence; storms damage airports, cancel flights

High wind flipped over a Cessna 150 on Friday at Bowman Field (KLOU) in Louisville / Credit: Jim Yonts

Major storms wreaked havoc across parts of the country, with heavy snowfall and hurricane-force winds impacting planes both on the ground and in the air. Severe turbulence led to the death of a passenger on board a business jet. The weather caused damage and power outages at Kentucky airports and one plane was flipped over due to the strong wind. Multiple airports across the country canceled flights or closed down in anticipation of the storm or due to loss of power or related damages.

A Bombardier Challenger 300 (N300ER) hit severe turbulence over New England and one of the passengers aboard died. While turbulence is not uncommon, death due to turbulence is extremely rare. The plane left from the Dillant/Hopkins Airport (EEN) on its way to Leesburg Executive Airport (JYO) on Friday and reached an altitude of 26,000 feet before it diverted to Bradley International Airport (BDL). There were five people on the plane, two crew and three passengers.

Turbulence is air movement that occurs unexpectedly and is created by conditions like atmospheric pressure or thunderstorms. The NTSB tweeted that investigators were looking into a reported trim issue that occurred before the incident. The organization is investigating the incident and has not stated whether the victim was wearing a seatbelt or not. Turbulence accounts for many incidents on planes, both private and commercial, but turbulence-related death is extremely rare.

According to the FAA, between 2009-2021 there have been 146 total serious turbulence injuries to passengers and crew, involving Part 121 aircraft. CNN reported that there have been 38 turbulence-related deaths involving a Part 91 plane since 2009 and almost all of these incidents led to a deadly crash. Often, turbulence-related injuries impact crew members, with 80 percent of the 146 serious injuries reported from 2009-2021 involving crew members. CNN also reported that since 1980, only three people have been killed in turbulence-related incidents on Part 91 planes, and two of those passengers were not wearing seat belts.

RELATED STORIES:

Strong winds reported at time of deadly Super King Air crash near Arkansas airport’

Tips on flying safely despite winter weather challenges, from FAA

Severe weather is often a flight deterrent for even the most experienced pilot. Winds and winter weather caused many airports to cancel flights or temporarily close over the weekend. Snow, rain and wind are not ideal weather conditions for flying. These potentially hazardous conditions plagued parts of the country over the weekend, leading to hundreds of thousands losing power and some losing their lives.

Louisville, Kentucky was hit with rain in the early morning and winds throughout the night on Friday. The stormy weather led to flash floods, tornadoes and record wind for Kentucky and parts of Indiana. Wind gusts reached 60-80 mph in the region and Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF) reported a wind gust at 79 mph, according to WLKY. Winds gusts were strong enough to flip a plane over at Bowman Field (LOU), home of GlobalAir.com.

Over 330,000 people lost power across the state of Kentucky and the Blue Grass Airport (LEX) lost power in its terminal building due to the strong winds. WBKO reported that the airport did not have any flights landing or taking off because of the wind and the terminal closed before 9 p.m. with the parts of the airport, like TSA, without power. The roof suffered damage as well as the rental car garage and Concourse A area.

The Detroit area was hit with a winter storm and numerous airlines canceled all flights in or out of the area. The Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) closed temporarily due to the winter weather conditions.

The windy wintry mix caused many problems over the weekend across several states. While most of the damage remained on the ground as numerous airports and airlines closed down or canceled flights, its impact led to the first turbulence-related death in decades.