Pamela Rose Haze Popular Books

Pamela Rose Haze Biography & Facts

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. 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. Background On the evening of July 16, 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr. piloted a Piper Saratoga to attend the wedding of his cousin Rory to Mark Bailey at the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. The plane also carried Kennedy's wife, Carolyn Bessette, and sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette. Lauren Bessette was to be dropped off at Martha's Vineyard Airport, while Kennedy and his wife would continue to Barnstable Municipal Airport. Kennedy had purchased his plane three months before the crash. The Bessette sisters were seated in the second row of seats, which faced the rear of the plane and were back-to-back with the pilot's seat. Timeline of events Flight Kennedy checked in with the air traffic control tower at Martha's Vineyard Airport before his departure. At 8:38 p.m. on Friday, July 16, 1999, Kennedy departed from New Jersey's Essex County Airport, 21 miles (34 km) west of Midtown Manhattan. At about 9:41 p.m., unknown until subsequent official investigations, Kennedy's plane crashed nearly nose first into the Atlantic Ocean. At 10:05 p.m., a clerical-duties summer intern contacted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) office in Bridgeport, Connecticut, about Kennedy's failure to arrive, but the intern was told that no information could be released to him over the phone. Coast Guard notified At 2:15 a.m. on July 17, the Kennedy family reported to the Coast Guard Air Station at Cape Cod that the plane had not arrived. At 4 a.m., the United States Coast Guard began a search and rescue operation. Kennedy's cousin Anthony Radziwiłł told the press that if Kennedy was still alive, "He'll find a way to get out. He possesses the will to survive, enough will for all three of them." Officials were not optimistic about finding Kennedy alive after several pieces of debris from his plane were recovered from the ocean. "There is always hope," Coast Guard Lt. Gary Jones said. "But unfortunately, when you find certain pieces of evidence, you have to be prepared for anything." President Clinton's response President Bill Clinton spoke with Kennedy's older sister, Caroline, and paternal uncle, Ted. Clinton also spoke to Andrew Cuomo, who was married to Kennedy's paternal cousin, Kerry. "He wanted to let them know he was thinking about them, that we'll do everything we can, and that our prayers are with them," Clinton spokesman Joe Lockhart said. Clinton responded by ordering U.S. Navy warships to assist in the search for Kennedy's plane. Critics argued that the search was an abuse of taxpayer dollars, as no ordinary citizen would receive similar treatment. Clinton said that the Kennedys had "suffered much, and given more", and he called for them to feel "the strength of God, the love of their friends and the prayers of their fellow citizens". Debris and bodies recovered On July 19, the NOAA vessel Rude finally located fragments of Kennedy's plane using side-scan sonar. Rude captured high-resolution images which were used to create a three-dimensional map of the ocean floor. At 11:30 p.m. on July 20, the salvage ship USNS Grasp identified the plane's fuselage. Navy divers found parts of the plane strewn over a broad area of seabed 120 feet (37 m) below the surface, approximately 7.5 miles (12.1 km) west of Martha's Vineyard. On the afternoon of July 21, divers reportedly found the Bessette sisters' bodies near the fuselage, while Kennedy himself was still strapped in his seat. However, Coast Guard Admiral Richard M. Larrabee said that all three bodies were "near and under" the fuselage, still strapped in. The bodies were taken to the county medical examiner's office by motorcade. Autopsies on the evening of July 21 performed by the county medical examiner found that all three had died upon impact. At the same time, the Kennedy and Bessette families announced their plans for memorial services. After the autopsies were completed, the three bodies were taken from Hyannis to Duxbury, Massachusetts, where they were cremated in the Mayflower Cemetery crematorium. Investigation The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officially declared that Kennedy's plane had crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. The probable cause of the crash was "the pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during a descent over water at night, which was a result of spatial disorientation". Under the heading "Spatial Disorientation", the report listed, from the FAA Instrument Flying Handbook Advisory Circular 61-27C, six examples: The leans Coriolis illusion Graveyard spiral Inversion illusion Elevator illusion Autokinesis Kennedy was not qualified to fly his plane by "instruments only". The crash occurred in conditions not legally requiring such qualification. Other pilots flying similar routes on the night of the crash reported no visual horizon due to haze. Possible contributing factors Haze and visibility Atmospheric conditions along Kennedy's flight path on the night of the crash were occasionally hazy, which can lead to spatial disorientation for pilots. The weather was officially listed as "visual meteorological conditions" (VMC), which allowed Kennedy to fly under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) rather than Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), especially since he lacked an instrument rating. The visibility was very poor in Essex County, New Jersey and airports along Kennedy's flight path reported visibility between five and eight miles with haze and a few clouds. Some pilots flying similar routes as Kennedy on the night of the accident reported no visual horizon over water because of haze. Also, the NTSB reported on one pilot who cancelled a similar flight that evening due to "poor" weather. The conditions near the crash site were: "Clear skies at or below 12,000 feet; visibility 10 miles". Pilot experience Kennedy first obtained his private pilot license in 1998 and received "high performance airplane" and "complex airplane" endorsements two months before the crash. His estimated total flight experience before the crash was .... Discover the Pamela Rose Haze popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Pamela Rose Haze books.