What Happened to JFK Jr. & Carolyn Bessette? How Their Love Story Ended in Tragedy
Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette is a fascinating tale of their romance, but their real-life tale ultimately ends in devastation. Less than three years into their marriage, John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette were killed in a plane crash, along with Carolyn’s sister, Lauren Bessette, on July 16, 1999.
The deaths of John, Carolyn, and Lauren shocked millions around the globe. Love Story will inevitably have to address the tragic end to John and Carolyn’s relationship, but how much the show covers remains to be seen. With Love Story launching on February 12, here are key details about the accident that you need to know.
What happened to John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette?
John, Carolyn, and Lauren were in his single-engine Piper Saratoga II when it crashed in the Atlantic Ocean on July 16, 1999, off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. After taking off from Essex County Airport in New Jersey, they were headed first to Martha’s Vineyard to drop off Lauren before flying to the Barnstable Municipal Airport (now known as Cape Cod Gateway Airport). They were headed there to attend the wedding of John’s cousin, Rory Kennedy, to Mark Bailey at the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.
The plane took off at 8:38 p.m. ET and crashed at 9:41 p.m. ET, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation.
Was John F. Kennedy Jr.’s plane recovered?
Yes, the plane was recovered days after the crash. President Bill Clinton authorized an extensive search to find the plane. The plane’s fuselage was discovered on July 20, 1999, and the bodies of John, Carolyn, and Lauren were found a day later. All three died on impact. John was 38 years old. Carolyn was 33, and Lauren was 34.
What caused John F. Kennedy Jr.’s plane crash?
A year after the tragedy, the National Transportation Safety Board revealed what led to the fatal crash in a staff report: pilot error. John had little experience flying his plane alone at night and became disoriented due to haze, according to The New York Times. His flight instructor offered to fly with John that night, but he “wanted to do it alone,” despite the fact that he’d flown very little without an instructor.
At the time of the crash, John wasn’t yet qualified for flying with instruments alone. The flying instruments help a pilot tell if they are in level flight or banking, the latter of which can lead to a fatal spiral. Because the haze obscured the horizon and he did not have the complete instrument flying training, John experienced spatial disorientation.
Why was Lauren Bessette on the plane?
Lauren, who worked for Morgan Stanley in Manhattan, was headed to Martha’s Vineyard to spend time with Bobby Shriver, JFK Jr.’s cousin, whom she was quietly dating.
A couple was going to pick Lauren up from the Martha’s Vineyard airport on the night of July 16, according to Elizabeth Beller’s Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. When the plane didn’t show, they had a maintenance worker at the airport call a nearby Federal Aviation Administration post.
John and Carolyn intended to drop Lauren off before heading to the Hyannis Port airport. Dan Samson, a close friend and business associate of JFK Jr., was going to meet them there. When John and Carolyn never arrived, Dan called Carole Radziwill, the wife of John’s cousin, Anthony Radziwill. Carole was the one to call the Woods Hole Coast Guard, which initiated the search efforts.
Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette, Thursdays, FX and Hulu
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