SIGHTINGS



Kennedy Crash Bodies
And Wreckage Found
By Coast Guard
BBC News
7-21-99

 
 
 
 
The US Coast Guard has located the bodies of John F Kennedy Jnr's wife, Carolyn Kennedy Bessette, and her sister Lauren Bessette - hours after Mr Kennedy's body was found amid the wreckage of his aircraft.
 
A dive is underway to retrieve the three bodies and bring them to the surface, said James Hall, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is jointly overseeing the operation with the Coast Guard.
 
Latest reports say the bodies of the two women were found a short distance away from the remains of the plane.
 
President Clinton, speaking at a White House news conference, has repeated his praise for the Coast Guard and others involved in the search "for the fine work they have done under extremely difficult circumstances".
 
"I think we should keep our thoughts with the families as events unfold - my thoughts and prayers are with them," he said.
 
Mr Kennedy's uncle, Senator Edward Kennedy, has been taken by the Coast Guard to identify the bodies of the crash victims.
 
(Click here to see map of the flight route)
 
The wreckage of the single-engine Piper Saratoga plane, which crashed on Friday, was reportedly found during the night in about 100ft (30 metres) of water. It was located by a remote diving vehicle equipped with a robotic camera.
 
The discovery came as the US Navy and Coast Guard scoured a site 7.5 miles (12km) southwest of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
 
Coast Guard Rear Admiral Richard Larrabee, who was overseeing the search, has cancelled a round of TV interviews to go to the USS Grasp, the ship at the centre of the operation to bring up the wreckage.
 
New details from the plane's final radar traces show the final descent may have exceeded 5,000ft (1,600 metres) per minute, a far greater speed than previously thought.
 
During his news conference, Mr Clinton said his only involvement in the search operation had been on Monday, when he endorsed the decision by Admiral Larrabee to extend the operation "beyond the time when it might normally have ceased".
 
Mr Clinton quoted the admiral as saying that he thought there was "a chance to find something else" and that "because of who's involved, we ought to go on a little more".
 
"I said I would support it and defend it, and I think it was the right decision," Mr Clinton said.
 
The records show things started to go wrong about 20 miles off Martha's Vineyard.
 
After levelling out at 2,300ft, Mr Kennedy turned to the right, climbed another 300ft, turned to the right again and went into a steep dive.
 
Some aviators said Mr Kennedy could have been suffering from ''spatial disorientation'' - a common experience among less experienced pilots.
 
"Your middle ear ... can be tricked and what you think is up is sideways and what you think is sideways is up," said David Hinson, former head of the Federal Aviation Administration.
 
Keen to go solo
 
New details have also emerged about Mr Kennedy's eagerness to fly solo.
 
The Washington Post said he decided to fly without a co-pilot on Friday because a day earlier he had had a cast removed from his ankle.
 
The paper said an exhilarated Mr Kennedy told acquaintances he would take the controls of his six-seater for the first time since breaking his ankle in a paraglider crash three weeks earlier.
 
Mr Kennedy only had 100 hours of flying experience and was not licensed for instrument landings.
 
America mourns
 
Government sources said Kennedy family aides and friends were in New York, planning a memorial service for all three victims, perhaps on Saturday.
 
White House officials have quashed speculation that Mr Kennedy might eventually be buried with his parents in Arlington National Cemetery.
 
Cemetery staff have taken measurements at the site of the late JFK's grave. But officials say they have been told the family has other plans.
 
Across the US, thousands of Americans have been laying flowers, offering prayers and lighting candles for the Kennedy couple and Miss Bessette.
 
Many have also queued at Boston's JFK library to sign a condolence book.
 
A statement issued by Senator Kennedy described his nephew as "a shining light in all our lives and in the lives of the nation and the world".
 
"His loss leaves an enormous void in all our lives," the statement added.
 
JFK Junior and his wife had been travelling to Hyannisport for the wedding of his cousin Rory when the aircraft crashed.





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