Timeline
The timeline of the flight, reconstructed from radar data, official reports, and witness accounts, reveals a sequence of decisions and events that culminated in tragedy.
July 16, 1999
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM EDT: John F. Kennedy Jr. is at his office in New York City, where he works on George magazine. He had recently had the cast removed from an ankle he had fractured six weeks earlier, which required him to use crutches. Lauren Bessette travels to the city and is picked up by Kennedy to be driven to the airport.
Approximately 6:30 PM EDT: Kennedy and Lauren Bessette arrive at Essex County Airport in Fairfield, New Jersey. They wait for Carolyn Bessette, who was delayed while shopping in Manhattan. The delay pushed their departure from daylight into the challenging conditions of dusk and then full darkness.
8:21 PM EDT: The sun sets. The period of twilight that follows offers diminishing visual cues for a VFR pilot.
8:38 PM EDT: Kennedy’s white and blue Piper Saratoga, registration number N9253N, takes off from Essex County Airport. Their flight plan was to fly to Martha’s Vineyard Airport (MVY), drop off Lauren Bessette, and then continue to Hyannis Port for a family wedding the next day.
8:38 PM – 9:26 PM EDT: The aircraft flies east along the Connecticut coastline before turning southeast toward Long Island Sound. The flight is unremarkable for the first hour. Radar data shows the aircraft climbing to a cruising altitude of 5,500 feet and maintaining a normal flight path.
Approximately 9:26 PM EDT: Near Westerly, Rhode Island, the aircraft passes the coastline and begins its 34-mile flight over open water toward Martha’s Vineyard. At this point, the pilot would have lost the visual reference of shoreline lights. The air was hazy, and there was no visible moon. The flight was now taking place over a black, featureless void.
9:38 PM EDT: Radar data shows the aircraft beginning a slow descent from its cruising altitude. At the same time, it begins a right-hand turn away from its direct course to Martha’s Vineyard.
9:39 PM EDT: The aircraft’s descent and turn continue. It is at this point that investigators believe Kennedy was likely experiencing the initial effects of spatial disorientation. Without a visible horizon, his inner ear would have been sending false signals about the aircraft’s attitude. An NTSB performance study noted that during this period, the autopilot was likely not engaged.
9:40:15 PM EDT: The aircraft inexplicably begins to climb, ascending from 2,200 feet back up to 2,600 feet while also making a series of left and right turns. This erratic maneuvering is a classic sign of a VFR pilot struggling with spatial disorientation. Without visual cues, the pilot is “flying blind” and fighting their own senses, often over-correcting instrument readings or misinterpreting them entirely.
9:40:34 PM EDT: The final radar return is recorded. The data indicates the aircraft has entered a steep, spiraling right-hand dive. Its rate of descent was calculated to be approximately 4,700 feet per minute, far exceeding the safe operational limits of the aircraft. Impact with the ocean would have occurred seconds later.
10:05 PM EDT: A staff member at Martha’s Vineyard Airport calls the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to report that N9253N is overdue.
July 17, 1999
2:15 AM EDT: The United States Coast Guard is officially notified, and a massive air and sea search is launched. The search area expands over the following days to cover thousands of square miles of the Atlantic Ocean.
July 19, 1999: Using sophisticated side-scan sonar, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) vessel Rude locates the primary wreckage of the Piper Saratoga in 116 feet of water, approximately 7.5 miles off the coast of the island.
July 21, 1999: United States Navy divers recover the bodies of John F. Kennedy Jr., Carolyn Bessette, and Lauren Bessette from the wreckage. The recovery operation is completed, and the primary components of the aircraft, including the engine and flight controls, are raised for analysis by the NTSB.
