AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REPORT

John Kennedy, Jr Piper Saratoga crash

John Kennedy, Jr Piper Saratoga crash

Introduction

July16 marks the anniversary of the deaths of John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, Carolyn's unborn child and Carolyn's sister, Lauren. The National Transportation Safety Board, after a lengthy investigation, concluded that Kennedy suffered from spatial disorientation, a condition that arises from a loss of balance in the inner ear and causes confusion. According to the NTSB report, Kennedy's problems were exacerbated by the hazy night sky and his inability to see the horizon—even though radar images show a clear sky that night. The NTSB also said investigators did not find any mechanical problems with Kennedy's plane, a Piper Saratoga II. (NTSB Accident Report, 2000)

Causes of the Crash

The last four radar contacts were reported as follows: 9:40:20, altitude 2,200 feet; 9:40:24, altitude 1,900 feet; 9:40:29, altitude 1,600 feet and 9:40:34, altitude 1,100 feet. The AVERAGE rate of descent works out to a little more than 4,700 feet per minute. At that rate of descent, the airplane was within 11 seconds of impact with the ocean at the point where radar contact ceased.

We are told that these blips occurred at a distance of 16 miles from the airport, but curiously we are not told in what direction. After four days of searching, the main fuselage of the plane was located in 116 feet of water, 7 miles southwest of Gay Head, at the southwestern corner of Martha's Vineyard, 19 miles from the airport—3 miles FURTHER AWAY from the airport than the point at which they said radar contact was lost.

Officially, the reason for the crash is unknown. The major media have made every effort to underscore John Kennedy's limited flight experience and the potential for pilot error (PA-32R-301T Saratoga, 1997). This, they say, given haze and challenging flying conditions, could possibly have led to the plane entering into a “Graveyard Spiral”, in which the plane swirls downward in an ever-tightening spiral at accelerating velocity. Now, they say, it will take anywhere from six to nine months to piece together the aircraft to determine the cause of the crash—either as simple pilot error or as mechanical failure. Autopsies are said to have revealed that all 3 occupants of the plane died instantly, of multiple injuries, at the point of impact. The bodies of John, Carolyn and Lauren were cremated immediately following the autopsies.

Witnesses

Official reports either do not refer to witnesses or state outright that there were none—but there appear to have been many indirect witnesses to the crash. Victor Pribanic, a fisherman at Squibnocket Point (identified by the number “1” on the accompanying map), reported to the Martha's Vineyard Times that he had heard a “loud explosion-like sound" from the direction of Noman's Land. This “ear witness” report, ignored by mainstream media, corroborates the 13-mile distance that Kennedy called in to the control tower. (Gellman & Ferdinand, 1999)

A reporter for the Vineyard Gazette newspaper (identified by the number “2” on the map) is reported to ...