Aircraft Issues, Not Turbulence Killed Former Obama Administration Official

Investigators revealed on March 24 that a former Obama-era official travelling on a corporate jet was fatally injured when the pilots disconnected a system used to stabilize the aircraft.

Reports say a simply flip of the switch caused the plane to abruptly pitch up.

The plane turned nose-up at multiple times the force of gravity then pointed lower before again turning upward before pilots could regain control.

Dana J. Hyde was 55 years old when she succumbed to her injuries at a hospital in Hartford, Connecticut.

Hyde was a prominent attorney who worked in both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama's administrations. Her 2018 biography asserts that she served as counsel to the 9/11 Commission. Hyde was also the former CEO of Millennium Challenge Corporation, an independent American government foreign aid agency.

"As soon as the switch position was moved, the airplane abruptly pitched up," a report on the incident from the National Transportation Safety Board said. "The pilot reported that his left hand was on the flight controls and his right hand was guarding the right side of the flight controls. He immediately with both hands regained control of the airplane in what he estimated to be a few seconds after the airplane’s pitch oscillated up and down. During the oscillations, the pilot instructed the second-in-charge to move the stabilizer trim switch back to the primary position, which the second-in-charge accomplished."