1999 Martha's Vineyard plane crash
On July 16, 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr. died when the light aircraft he was flying crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Kennedy's wife Carolyn Bessette and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette were also on board and died. The Piper Saratoga departed from New Jersey's Essex County Airport; its intended route was along the coastline of Connecticut and across Rhode Island Sound to Martha's Vineyard Airport.
A Piper Saratoga similar to the accident aircraft | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | July 16, 1999 |
| Summary | Loss of control in marginal VMC |
| Site | Atlantic Ocean, off the west coast of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, U.S. 41°17′37″N 70°58′39″W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Piper PA-32R-301 Saratoga II |
| Operator | private |
| Call sign | SARATOGA 9253 NOVEMBER |
| Registration | N9253N |
| Flight origin | Essex County Airport, New Jersey |
| Stopover | Martha's Vineyard Airport, Massachusetts |
| Destination | Barnstable Municipal Airport, Massachusetts |
| Passengers | 2 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Fatalities | 3 |
| Survivors | 0 |
The official investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that Kennedy fell victim to spatial disorientation while descending over water at night and consequently lost control of his plane. Kennedy did not hold an instrument rating and therefore was only certified to fly under visual flight rules (VFR). At the time of the crash, the weather and light conditions were such that all basic landmarks were obscured, making visual flight challenging, although legally still permissible.