The Final Hour

FORWARD

On July 16, 1999, at 1 p.m., J.F.K., Jr. called the F.B.O., (fixed base operator) at Essex County Airport in Caldwell, New Jersey. He requested that his Piper Saratoga II, call sign N9253N, be rolled out of its hangered location and parked. He asked that the plane be ready for him by 5 p.m.

He had planned to fly that afternoon to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, with his wife and sister-in-law. His sister-in-law was to remain in Martha's Vineyard and he and his wife were to fly on to Hyannis.

The flight to Martha's Vineyard from Essex County Airport is approximately 180 nautical miles, and would take about one hour. The flight to Hyannis from Martha's Vineyard is 25 nautical miles and would take about 20 minutes. The total time involved would not exceed 1 hour and 30 minutes, so he would be at Hyannis Barnstable Airport by 7:30 p.m.

J.F.K. Jr. started taking flying lessons in October 1982. He obtained his private pilot certificate for "airplane single engine land" in April 1998. He received a "high performance airplane" sign off in his Cessna 182, (another beautiful airplane) in June 1998. His total estimated flight experience, excluding simulator time, was about 310 hours, of which 55 were at night. He now owned a slightly used piper PA-32R-301, Saratoga II; a single engine, low wing airplane with retractable landing gear. He had acquired the plane at the end of April 1999, operating as Random Ventures, Inc., New York, N.Y. It was a beauty, a plane every private pilot would love to fly. J.F.K., Jr. had completed a "complex airplane" evaluation by his C.F.I., and was signed off to fly this plane in May 1999. He must have loved to fly this plane. During the period of May 1999 to July 1999 he flew with three different C.F.I.'s, logging several flights from C.D.W. (Caldwell, New Jersey) to M.V.Y. (Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts), many of the flights being at night.

His estimated flight time in the accident airplane was about 36 hours, about 9.4 hours were at night. In the 5 months before the accident John had flown about 35 flight legs either to or from the Essex County, Teterboro, New Jersey area and the Martha's Vineyard, Hyannis Massachusetts area. He flew over 17 legs without a C.F.I. on board, including at least 5 at night. His last known flight in the accident airplane without a C.F.I. on board was May 28, 1999.

Witnesses who were at CDW, (Caldwell Airport) on the night of the accident stated that they saw the pilot and a female near the accident plane. The witnesses also reported that they saw the pilot using crutches and loading luggage into the airplane. One witness stated that he watched the pilot perform an engine run-up and then take off about 8:40 p.m. Now in my opening paragraph, I stated that J.F.K., Jr. called the F.B.O. and requested his hangered plane be rolled out at 5p.m. for an anticipated 5:30 to 6 p.m. departure, a flight to be conducted mostly in daylight. Accounts of John by one of the C.F.I.s who evaluated him were "he was methodical about his flight planning and very cautious about his aviation decision making." According to the NTSB, in the 15 months before the accident, John had flown about 35 flight legs either to or from the Essex County/Teterboro, New Jersey area and the Martha's Vineyard/ Hyannis, Massachusetts area, so he was very familiar with the quirky weather patterns in the Martha's Vineyard area. Further, he knew that he was not instrument rated and had problems with multiple tasks in instrument meteorological conditions.

So with the circumstances that evolved, all the parties arriving late because of the traffic jam on Route 80, and what was now an unplanned night flight, why did he load the aircraft and depart on a journey which he knew could be difficult to complete by himself.

Although we will never know the answer to that question, I have a special sympathy and insight for John, not just as a fellow man, saddened by the premature loss of young life, but also as a fellow pilot who has made, through ignorance, panic and bravado, many questionable flight decisions. I have never before wanted to talk about any of them, but I thought that letting people climb into the mind of a pilot might help them understand what it was like in John’s plane in that final hour.

Read on, and see if the answer presents itself.