The Untold Story of JFK Jr's Fatal Plane Crash!

This is the untold story of JFK Jr and the fatal pilot mistakes he made that got him, his wife, and her sister killed. The flight has been the source of endless speculation over the years and that's why I'm hoping to set the record straight on what really happened and the events that led to this tragedy.

#aviation #flying #pilotdebrief

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[pilot-debrief]

Here's a few facts I didn't include in the video:
- John had to repeat a lesson during instrument training four times, but that lesson was about VORs and NDBs and had nothing to do with the reason why he crashed
- nothing else in his training history suggested he was below average or a reckless pilot
- Shortly after takeoff on that fateful flight, John almost ran into an American Airlines flight that was on approach to the Westchester County airport. John wasn’t talking to Air Traffic Control and the American Airlines crew had to maneuver to avoid the collision. The controller wasn’t able to get ahold of John and the truth is that if John had requested VFR flight following, he would have received traffic advisories and most likely avoided this, but he also would have had a controller to talk to throughout the flight that could have provided him with weather advisories and perhaps prevented this tragedy.
- Ultimately, I think he just became too complacent, having flown the route numerous times and he overestimated his skill level in the aircraft and didn't realize how dangerous the situation was.
CHECK OUT ONE OF THESE OTHER CELEBRITY PLANE CRASHES

[anttiluode]

I'm not even aviation enthuastic, but I like watching these videos for some reason. It's still interesting to me. Keep up the good work!

[Ficon]

“Just because it’s legal, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea” should be the motto of Part 91, written in large glowing letters across the dash of every high performance low hours twin. Thank you for your excellent analysis and I’m glad you are starting to pick up some sponsor money.

[michaelfranklin]

Quick call. “It’s getting late now, let’s go out for dinner and leave in the morning “.

[tamasbodnar]

Around the time this happened a magazine reporter went up in an airplane with somebody at night over the ocean the reporter was told to close his eyes for a period of time and when he opened his eyes his attention was directed at a white dot outside the window and asked to identify it he said it was a star, the pilot said no it's a boat in the ocean we're headed directly for the sea, the reporter couldn't even feel that they were going down this was done to demonstrate why it is important to be type rated for night flying and how easy it is to get disoriented.

[UncleKennysPlace]

This crash, and John Denver's, were the "water cooler" stories at our local FBO. Lots of conjecture, which mostly turned out to be correct, unfortunately.

[svenskanorsk]

He stopped flying because his mother was terrified of him dying in a plane crash. Only after she died did he pick it up again.

[EverettLHill]

Hoover, I was hoping you would cover this one. I lived across the hall from John in boarding school and it was painful to watch how emotionally challenging it was to live his life. Thanks for not filtering your perspective on safety issues yet doing it with compassion.

[kwbrech]

I’m not a pilot and have no aspirations to become a pilot. But I find these debriefings fascinating and very informative.

[markbryan]

I have flown to Block Island, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket many times. Fog comes in quickly on those islands. No VFR only pilot should make that trip at night. Night flying over the ocean should be considered conditions regardless of the weather. I have also flown the Cherokee 6. That is a lot of plane for a low time pilot. A lot of holes in that Swiss cheese!

[gregoryknox]

I'm a retired Airbus Captain (30 yrs USAir/American) with 18, 400 TT (3000 Single Engine, 100? in the saratoga/lance type plane) THE NIGHT JFK JR. DIED
July 16, 1999 I was a first officer flying a Boeing 737 into Boston that night. I had regular schedule of flying into Boston for a lng layover once a week, and from Boston the next night to Miami for another long layover. This particular night was so memorable because JFK Jr’s private plane was missing, attempting to fly at night, single pilot, single engine (nice plane), into Martha’s Island for a family function, a wedding I think?.
The descent into Boston I commented to the other pilot how murky and eerie it was, no lights what so ever. Boston was reporting overcast, 4 miles, visibility, approaches to Rsy 27 and 31 were in use. 27 and 31 are runway headings, based on the 360 degree compass rose, to the nearest 10 degree mark. 27 = 270 degrees, 31 = 310 degrees, and when you had parallel runways, and extra letter for Left, Center, Right were used, so 32L, 32R etc. ATC kept asking us slow down, and “can you see the airport yet?” When we couldn’t see it he turned us away and sequenced for an Instrument approach, and he was frustrated. Visibility was no longer 4 miles. We made the approach and landing without incident. The hotel was a 5 star, and the whole crew went to the same hotel (later years we, the pilots, were no longer staying with the flight attendants).
John Kennedy, a private pilot with NO instrument rating and only a few hundred hours, bought a very night complex expensive airplane. Complex means big engine, adjustable propeller, retractable gear. He usually had a flight instructor with him as a safety pilot but not this night. His instructor offered but JFK declined, probably didn’t want to inconvenience the kid with a long weekend, housing may have been an issue too.
I believe he got disoriented while flying, it’s easy to lose your situational awareness at night, no lights outside, it’s called VERTIGO. It can lead into a loss of control of the airplane. It did. It sounds like he rolled upside down in a steep turn with the left wind striking the ocean first, crushing the roof of the plane. It sank in 120 feet of water. They didn’t find the plane for 4 days.

[LuvHuvr]

On that night in 1999 I was flying as Captain in a US Airways Exp Beech 1900 commuter. I made two round trips ALB-BOS. Both approaches in Boston Logan airport required an ILS to get in. I can only imagine the lack of ground lights and being over water must have been disorienting for a non-instrument rated private pilot.

[johanwithag]

Flying with family or other guest is dangerous by nature. They talk to you, asking questions, they distract you at the moment you have to concentrate and have to do complex tasks. They reduce your span of controle and you can't let them shut up. It's a major factor in private flying accidents.

[travelwithtony]

Aircraft don’t care how wealthy you are, what your social status is, or how famous you are.
RIP.

[theschmonkiboy]

As a non-native English speaker, I love your channel because you have a pleasant voice and speak very clearly.
This is good training for me.
Thanks for that.
Warm greetings from southern Germany.

[johngood]

A pilot friend of mine was flying VFR in the same area that evening, and noted the visibility issues. He also reported a slanting cloud layer that offered a false clue as to the true horizon: this twice had him making an involuntary turn before he figured out to disregard it and consult the artificial horizon. He believes this phenomenon contributed to the crash.

[jimmydulin]

Almost all of my night time was in Hueys in the Army with another pilot. Later i flew Ag and pipeline patrol in airplanes with little night time. I consider night to be IFR and two pilot. I know many Freight Dogs and such are very comfortable single pilot at night, but they have instrument (and now all those computers) situational awareness. It is scary out there at night guys/gals.

[augustingarnier]

As one mother told me shortly after the crash "I'm glad that his mother had already passed away for it would have surely killed her to have her only son die". They have a profound history of tragedy.

[mmatejka]

Another good debrief Hoover. You gave more information about him that I had never heard. Still, another unnecessary accident.

[estelleadamski]

John's mother was NOT in favor of his flying & being a pilot. Jacqueline begged John to give up his idea of flying, and he didn't actively pursue it until she died. So sad!