WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. (WTNH) — A private plane may have experienced a “trim issue,” a reference to adjustments that are made to an airplane’s control surfaces to ensure it is stable and level in flight, that led to the death of a passenger, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Monday.

The NTSB said a private plane was forced to land in Windsor Locks around 3:45 p.m. Friday due to severe turbulence. There were two other passengers and two crew members on board.

Connecticut State Police said Dana Hyde, 55, of Cabin John, Maryland, was taken to the hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.’

Hyde formerly served as a White House official for both the Obama and Clinton administrations, according to officials.

In a Tweet Monday, the NTBS said, “investigators are now looking at a reported trim issue that occurred prior to the inflight upset. They will continue to learn more after they analyze information from the flight data recorder, cockpit voice recorder and other sources of information like weather data.”

Turbulence is unstable air in the atmosphere, which continues to be a cause for injury for airline passengers despite safety improvements. But deaths from turbulence are extremely rare.

Trim problems can also be responsible for buffeting or altitude changes.

The Bombardier Challenger 300 plane was on course from Keene, New Hampshire, to Leesburg, Virginia.

Conexon, the company that owns the plane, said in a statement the woman was not an employee.

“We can confirm an aircraft owned by Conexon was involved in an incident that required an emergency landing. The reported fatality was not a Conexon employee. We ask for privacy for the family members of those involved. We have no further details of the incident at this time,” Conexon officials said in a statement.

The NTSB said it would have a preliminary report available in two to three weeks.