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00:00Each and every piece, no matter how small, you know where it's coming from.
00:10The eyes of the whole world were going to be on this.
00:18Hit the water.
00:19Hit the water like this.
00:22The pilot was one of the most famous Americans of our time, John Kennedy Jr.
00:29He was a rising star.
00:32People were thinking that he had a chance to become the new president of the United States.
00:36Hello.
00:38Another sad chapter in the history of the family.
00:41This is Kennedy's curse.
00:43John, what's going on? Come on!
00:45Everyone wanted to know how it happened that the plane crash took the life of young Kennedy.
00:58Sauce. Sauce.
01:07The plane crash investigation.
01:10This is a true story based on official documents and testimony of eyewitnesses.
01:21A warm summer evening.
01:23Essex Airport is located just an hour's drive from Manhattan.
01:28Wealthy New York residents who own their own planes often use this airfield.
01:39One of the main representatives of the American elite was preparing to pilot his aircraft.
01:46John Kennedy Jr.
01:49He was a mind-blowing handsome man.
01:52He was a real prince.
01:54Everyone was waiting for him to finally become the president.
01:58I think no one doubted that sooner or later this moment would come.
02:04Kennedy Jr. became a great celebrity and without the help of politics.
02:09People magazine called him the most attractive man of the year.
02:14Ladies and gentlemen, this is George.
02:17He also worked as the editor-in-chief of his own magazine.
02:21And most importantly, he was the only son of the late President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
02:28The interest of the public in the life of Kennedy Jr. arose due to the extraordinary life and tragic death of his father.
02:35President Kennedy is killed. This is the official message.
02:39The killer shot the beloved public of the president just three days before the third birthday of John Jr.
02:47We all saw this adorable little child playing at the desk in the oval office.
02:54We saw how the father put him on his shoulders and walked with him around the White House.
02:58And of course, we were all witnesses to the tragic and sad moment
03:03when this child in a short coat gave his father's coffin his honor.
03:14Thirty-six years later, in the evening of July, John Kennedy Jr. was waiting for his wife Carolyn.
03:21She was late.
03:23The couple was going to a wedding to relatives.
03:25His sister Carolyn, Lauren Bassett, was flying with them.
03:31Where's your sister?
03:33I don't know. She's probably stuck in traffic.
03:35You need to go to Martha's Vineyard?
03:38Yes.
03:39All right.
03:41John was going to drop Lauren to the island and then fly with his wife to the family in Hyannisport, Massachusetts.
03:48He wanted to get to the wedding as soon as possible.
03:51Perhaps he was a little irritated, which is not surprising.
03:55As soon as he arrives, we immediately fly out.
03:59Kennedy received his pilot's license more than a year ago.
04:03But for the first time, he was flying a plane himself after a young man's crash,
04:07which occurred in an accident on the Delta plane.
04:11He liked extreme sports.
04:13He liked to take risks, to push his limits.
04:16He was satisfied with living the ordinary, boring life.
04:20At 20 minutes to 9, Kennedy's wife, Carolyn Bassett, arrived at the airport.
04:29Carolyn Bassett was a real American beauty.
04:33She was a goddess-like beauty.
04:36She was a real goddess of beauty.
04:39They really worked together.
04:41They were a very attractive couple.
04:45All right, ladies, hop in.
04:47All right, ladies, hop in.
04:49I just want to do a walk-around.
04:52Wait.
04:54We're going to have a good time.
04:57Carolyn got married to John three years ago.
05:00And since then, the press has not taken its eyes off her.
05:03The paparazzi watched every step of the couple.
05:07They still went out.
05:09They went out with the dog,
05:11and they were the best.
05:13They tried to live a normal life.
05:16But because of their persistent attention,
05:19their relationship began to deteriorate.
05:21There were rumors that a divorce was coming up.
05:26Kennedy was still limping after the accident.
05:29Finally, he finished checking his new plane,
05:32the Piper Saratoga.
05:34It's one of the best six-seater planes with one engine.
05:39Equipped with a global positioning system.
05:42And most importantly,
05:43the four passengers could sit face-to-face with each other.
05:49Seatbelts on.
05:51There's some headsets, if you want to listen.
06:02All right.
06:04Power on.
06:06Fuel pump on.
06:09And the propeller is clear.
06:14The route from Essex County Airport to Martha's Vineyard
06:18took about 90 minutes.
06:20Hyannis Port was right next to it.
06:23The route from Essex County Airport
06:26to Martha's Vineyard was quite familiar.
06:29I've been on it several times.
06:32Forty minutes to nine.
06:34Kennedy took off for more than two hours.
06:3975 knots.
06:42Oh, yeah.
06:46Oh, yeah.
06:55You stay clear of clouds.
06:57You have to keep a good visibility.
06:59Always keep a good line of sight.
07:01Always keep a good line of sight.
07:03Always keep a good line of sight.
07:05Is there a better view of New York you're ever gonna get?
07:08Once you turn towards the east,
07:11you can see Manhattan and the Hudson River.
07:14It's about 30 miles to the south.
07:34Just leave him on time.
07:35Montag is already behind us.
07:37I don't see a thing.
07:45His flight path was along the coast.
07:48So he would want to cross the Long Island Strait
07:52and then fly straight to the runway.
07:57Kennedy thought they would land in half an hour.
08:01We'll have you on the ground at ten.
08:06TEN HOURS LATER
08:18Martha's Vineyard Tower.
08:20This is the security service.
08:22Kennedy's plane hasn't been in touch with the dispatcher's office.
08:27Any word on that line?
08:29Uh, no, they didn't make it in time.
08:32It's not uncommon for a plane to be delayed.
08:36But in a few hours,
08:38Piper Saratoga didn't land,
08:41and everyone was getting ready for the worst.
08:44John Kennedy, his wife, and his sister
08:48were missing.
08:50The Kennedy curse, people used to say,
08:53is a handwritten curse by his father.
08:56But there is some truth to that.
08:59The history of the Kennedy family is full of tragedies.
09:03Joseph Kennedy Jr.,
09:05John Kennedy Jr.'s late uncle,
09:08died during a secret mission to World War II.
09:12And President John Kennedy,
09:14like his younger brother Robert,
09:16lost the life of a murderer.
09:18And many of their family members died.
09:22Sometimes it really does seem
09:25that a dark cloud hangs over their family.
09:29At 3 a.m.,
09:31the Air Transport Agency contacted the Coast Guard.
09:35The search for Kennedy's plane
09:38began only five hours after his disappearance.
09:42Curtis Samrock, from the Coast Guard,
09:44joined the search.
09:46We did have a little bit of hope
09:48to find him alive and well,
09:50because the history of his family
09:52was tragic as it was.
09:54First of all, we had to narrow down the search area.
09:56But there was almost nothing to work with.
09:59It looks like he didn't fulfill his flight plan.
10:02Kennedy's exact route was unknown.
10:06Unlike commercial flights,
10:08aircraft flying at low altitudes
10:11attract much less attention by air traffic controllers.
10:16To locate Kennedy,
10:19the Coast Guard will have to study the data from the radars.
10:22And it will only be approximate.
10:25When the plane is over the open sea,
10:28the radar system only monitors it
10:31if the pilot is flying at a height of over 330 meters.
10:35We don't know what happens to aircrafts
10:38flying lower than that.
10:40They can fly at least 100 meters,
10:42at least 10 kilometers.
10:44We just can't determine where to look for them.
10:47But investigators knew
10:49that Kennedy's plane was missing,
10:51so they had to find it.
10:55At dawn,
10:57representatives of the U.S. Army
11:00and local law enforcement agencies
11:03joined the search for Kennedy's missing plane.
11:08Everyone understood
11:10that if a small plane fell into the sea,
11:13the pilot and passengers
11:15would not survive in the cold waters of the Atlantic.
11:18The scale of the search for this plane
11:21was truly grandiose.
11:22They usually don't look for them so carefully.
11:25But this time, John Kennedy Jr. was missing.
11:28The whole country and the world
11:31were watching the search.
11:35The news that one of America's favorites
11:38went missing
11:40shocked the whole nation.
11:42People demanded answers.
11:45As soon as the story was revealed to the public,
11:48there was a stir in the press.
11:49In our parking lot,
11:51there were vans of all the most important
11:54information agencies.
11:58Finding three people in a huge sea
12:01is not an easy task.
12:04It's extremely difficult.
12:06We were basically flying at a height
12:08of 30 to 100 meters,
12:10and the size of what we were looking for
12:12was no more than the size of a basketball.
12:15The outcry from the public was that
12:17we needed help.
12:19People joined the search
12:21on their private ships.
12:23The search went on.
12:25It seemed that the whole of America
12:27was suffocating.
12:29All the attention was focused
12:31on what was happening.
12:33Some asked, how could this happen?
12:35Others answered,
12:37this is Kennedy's curse.
12:39Time went by.
12:41Millions of Americans and all over the world
12:43began to expect the worst.
12:44John and Kennedy Jr.
12:46were no longer to be found.
12:52The next day,
12:54after the plane disappeared,
12:56the rescuers made a gloomy discovery.
12:59In the stormy currents,
13:01Marta Swinyard
13:03found the wreckage of the plane.
13:06There was part of the front wheel,
13:09several cushions.
13:11One suitcase was found,
13:12as well as various other parts
13:14of the unidentified aircraft.
13:19Judging by the nature of the wreckage,
13:21it was almost impossible to survive the crash.
13:23Everyone was hoping
13:25that everything would turn out differently,
13:27but the hopes were in vain.
13:30Meanwhile,
13:32the National Transport Safety Council
13:34was already trying to figure out
13:36what went wrong.
13:38How are you doing?
13:39Robert Pierce, a former military pilot,
13:41led the investigation.
13:43This was a national tragedy.
13:45What do we want to hear?
13:49In terms of this,
13:51I don't think Bob Pierce
13:53ever led an investigation
13:55that interested the American public
13:57as much as he did.
14:00Let's see what the FBI has.
14:04Pierce immediately assumed
14:06that the cause of the crash
14:07was a criminal intent.
14:10Well, well, well.
14:13According to the FBI,
14:15John Kennedy Jr.
14:17was threatened with kidnapping
14:19at least three times.
14:21The last case happened in 1995,
14:23just four years before the tragedy.
14:25Not everyone liked him.
14:29He was a political figure,
14:31so there were many assumptions
14:33about the cause of the crash.
14:35A terrorist attack,
14:37a bomb dropped on board,
14:39or someone shot down a plane.
14:52The remains of the plane
14:54could give an answer.
14:56But they rested on the bottom of the Atlantic.
14:59Military divers
15:01tried to find the sunken fragments.
15:05Let's go.
15:07Meanwhile,
15:09the investigators had to study
15:11the route of the Piper-Saratoga plane.
15:13Having collected data
15:15from coastal radars,
15:17they got a full picture
15:19of Kennedy's movements.
15:22So far, so good.
15:26As soon as he leaves the coast,
15:28he turns to the side
15:30of Martha Swinyard.
15:32Why is he flying in the wrong direction?
15:34Data from radars
15:35can't be compared
15:37to the records
15:39of the coast guards.
15:41But we could still get information
15:43about the route of the plane,
15:45speed and altitude,
15:47which is very helpful
15:49in this investigation.
15:51Let's see what he's doing here.
15:53About 50 kilometers
15:55from Martha Swinyard,
15:57the plane made
15:59a few unusual maneuvers.
16:01First, he descends,
16:03then turns right
16:06for one minute,
16:08then left,
16:10then right again,
16:12followed by a high speed descent.
16:17You know, you have a feeling
16:19that he just didn't know
16:21how to control the plane.
16:23The pattern that was indicated
16:25by the radar was quite unusual.
16:27The trajectory of the flight
16:29was extremely unusual
16:31compared to the usual descent.
16:33We don't know.
16:35We don't know.
16:39Finally, on July 20,
16:41four days after Kennedy's plane
16:43crashed,
16:45military divers found
16:47the sunken wreck
16:49along with three bodies.
16:52Today,
16:54our relatives will be able
16:56to underline what happened,
16:58and that's very important.
17:00I still remember
17:02the pictures
17:03in which he pays homage
17:05to the passing mourning process.
17:07I think that was probably
17:09the hardest thing
17:11to see that from generation to generation
17:13the tragedies in their family
17:15were repeated over and over again.
17:17John F. Kennedy was really
17:19the prince of their family.
17:21It seems almost Shakespearean
17:23because the way we lost him
17:25is really, really awesome.
17:27Hey.
17:29Jeff Gazetti.
17:31Show us what you've got.
17:33My boss at the time
17:35called me and said,
17:37if they find wreckage,
17:39you're going to be the guy
17:41who's going to lead
17:43the examination
17:45of the wreckage.
17:47Okay, ready when you are.
17:49He fast-forwarded
17:51to the main wreckage.
17:53Okay, ready when you are.
17:55He fast-forwarded
17:57to the main wreckage.
17:59Okay, ready when you are.
18:01He fast-forwarded
18:03to the main wreckage.
18:05You have to answer
18:07the first question.
18:09When and how
18:11did the airplane crash?
18:13And did such a crash
18:15have a long impact
18:17or was it just
18:19in the air right there?
18:21He hoped
18:23that the answer
18:25would be given
18:27by the so-called
18:29four edges of the airplane.
18:30Wing.
18:32Tail.
18:34Nose.
18:37If the nose,
18:39the tail,
18:41and both the wings
18:43are located
18:45next to each other,
18:47it looks like
18:49it was in one piece
18:51over the water.
18:53All the major components
18:55of the airplane
18:57were located
18:58next to each other
19:00at a depth of 36.5 meters.
19:02So, we were very confident
19:04that the airplane
19:06was not damaged in the air.
19:08And that's the best view
19:10you'll ever get in New York.
19:12The discovery helped
19:14put an end to the rumors
19:16that the airplane was mined.
19:21The investigators managed
19:23to find one possible
19:25reason for the crash,
19:26but their work
19:28was just beginning.
19:30The newspaper knew
19:32that they would
19:34press it at every step.
19:36I realized
19:38that the whole world
19:40was watching us.
19:42The rumors in the press
19:44were enormous.
19:46So, from that state of mind,
19:48I knew I had to do
19:50everything by the book.
19:52Guys, that's the tail.
19:54Put that back.
19:57And the cables,
19:59get the cables over there
20:01and put them all over there.
20:03The investigators managed
20:05to find 75 percent
20:07of the Piper Saratoga,
20:09owned by John Kennedy Jr.
20:11Before we were ever going
20:13to share our conclusions
20:15with the public,
20:17with the aviation specialists
20:19and to the families of the dead,
20:21we needed to find
20:23as many clues as possible.
20:24We had to collect
20:26all the pieces of the plane
20:28that were available.
20:30Each and every piece
20:32had to be small
20:34or large.
20:36The investigators began
20:38to study each piece in detail.
20:40I want to see
20:42every piece in detail.
20:44We actually work our way
20:46from the tail to the nose.
20:48The pilots of low-size planes
20:50don't have to use
20:51all the pieces of the plane.
20:53To find out the truth,
20:55the press had to interpret
20:57the information
20:59that was told to him
21:01about the plane's breakdown.
21:03Let's see how he fell.
21:05If the press can understand
21:07how the plane hit the water,
21:09maybe he will find out
21:11the cause of the disaster.
21:13The damage on the right wing
21:15is more serious than on the left.
21:17Gradually, the investigators
21:18began to examine the wreck.
21:20When you look at crush marks,
21:22you can find a lot of them.
21:24There are some so-called
21:26accordion-shaped damage.
21:28As a result of a strong impact,
21:30the structure simply folds down
21:32like an accordion.
21:34You can determine
21:36the angle of impact
21:38by looking at them.
21:40Huh.
21:42I wasn't expecting that.
21:44The roof of the fuselage is damaged.
21:46No damage on the floor.
21:49I think they were upside down
21:51before the crash.
21:53He turned to the right
21:55and hit the water.
21:57Like this.
22:02The find illustrated
22:04the last terrible moments
22:06before the crash.
22:08Damn it! Come on!
22:10Level off!
22:18Help! Help! Help!
22:20Help! Help!
22:22Help! Help!
22:24Help! Help!
22:32The investigators knew
22:34how the plane fell into the water,
22:36but they still didn't understand why.
22:38The growing pressure
22:40from the public
22:42made it clear.
22:44I had heard
22:46that one newspaper
22:48was responsible
22:50for the photograph of the wreckage.
22:52And since I was in charge
22:54of taking photographs,
22:56I had to make sure
22:58that all photographs
23:00would not be secured
23:02and not leaking out.
23:05Ah, damn!
23:07It's time for another news conference.
23:10You have a pressure
23:12from the press
23:14to really want to know
23:16what's going on.
23:18They wanted results
23:20that could be presented
23:22to the public and the press.
23:27Saratoga is a single-engine
23:29propeller plane.
23:33Kennedy may have lost control
23:35due to the breakdown
23:37of a single engine.
23:39The newspaper examined
23:41the propeller blades.
23:43They were bent,
23:45which means that the propeller
23:46could not rotate.
23:48The only way that could happen
23:50is if the engine
23:52continued to rotate
23:54after the plane was submerged.
23:56So the plane could not stall.
23:58All the evidence was there.
24:00The engine is fine.
24:03The investigators
24:05went to the complicated mechanisms
24:07that control the plane.
24:09All right.
24:11Let's run the cables
24:13and see what happens.
24:14I'm going to run to the pulley
24:16and attach the cable.
24:29What about flight controls?
24:31Maybe the plane was flying
24:33so strangely not because of the pilot,
24:35but because there was
24:37some kind of breakdown inside.
24:44What the hell?
24:51Nothing's working.
24:53John, what's going on?
24:55It's okay.
25:15The aileron cables are also okay.
25:17The cable system is working.
25:19It looks like
25:21before the crash
25:23none of the cables broke.
25:25We found control cables
25:27that were damaged
25:29as a result of what we call
25:31overloading.
25:33They broke
25:35due to a strong impact,
25:37not as a result of corrosion
25:39or some sort of
25:41break in this failure.
25:43The investigators
25:45had to guess
25:47what else could have caused
25:49the plane to crash.
25:55All right.
25:57Now let's check
25:59what happened to the aileron.
26:01Another breakdown
26:03could explain
26:05the strange trajectory of the flight.
26:12Everything good?
26:14Everything's fine.
26:16Most of all,
26:18the pilots rely on the instrument
26:20that tells them
26:22if the plane is flying unevenly.
26:24The aviagorizont
26:26determines the position of the plane
26:28in the horizontal and vertical space.
26:34If due to a breakdown
26:36it showed incorrect data,
26:38Kennedy could have sent the plane
26:40to the sea.
26:42Come on!
26:44Level off!
26:48We harvested
26:50all the components of the instruments,
26:52we took them to our laboratory,
26:54we photographed them,
26:56we analyzed them
26:58and carefully looked inside.
27:00There it goes there.
27:02However, even a thorough examination
27:04of the instruments
27:06did not lead the investigators
27:08to new clues.
27:10The instruments were working perfectly.
27:12The investigators concluded
27:14that everything was fine
27:16with the Piper-Saratoga plane.
27:18We found no evidence
27:20of any breakdowns
27:22before the crash.
27:24All right.
27:26So you saw it on the runway.
27:28Now the attention of the investigators
27:30shifted to the pilot.
27:32Do you know what time that was?
27:34The investigators interrogated the witnesses
27:36putting together the picture
27:38of the last days of Kennedy Jr.
27:40Did you talk to him?
27:42Did you explain to him
27:44why the pilot lost control of the plane?
27:46And what did he say?
27:48It was necessary to analyze
27:50what the pilot was doing
27:5272 hours before the crash,
27:54to find out what was wrong,
27:56what made him nervous,
27:58who he was talking to,
28:00what he was thinking,
28:02what state he was in.
28:04In the case of such accidents,
28:06these are very important factors.
28:08Why did the pilot fail
28:10in controlling the plane?
28:13The investigators found out
28:15that Kennedy was standing
28:17in front of the plane
28:19leaning on his crotch.
28:21He had had surgery on his pelvis
28:23and the cast was removed
28:25just one day before the flight.
28:33To control the plane,
28:35the pilot needs both hands
28:37and both legs.
28:39When you are sitting behind the wheel,
28:40the pilot has to press the pedal.
28:42And in order to press the pedal
28:44with sufficient force,
28:46he uses the muscles of the crotch.
28:48Could it be that the plane
28:50flew along the fatal trajectory
28:52because of Kennedy's injury?
28:54The investigators checked
28:56the medical records.
28:58Kennedy still used crutches.
29:00However, according to the doctors,
29:02the crotch should not have
29:04prevented him from controlling the plane.
29:06He was fit to fly normally.
29:08That ankle should not have
29:10caused him any problems.
29:12And one more dead end.
29:14Next.
29:16The search for clues went on.
29:18Soon, the investigators found out
29:20that Kennedy's family life
29:22was not calm
29:24and the daily stress
29:26made it obvious.
29:28I want to get a sense
29:30of what he was thinking.
29:32So, there was something wrong
29:34in the family.
29:36For several months,
29:38the yellow press wrote
29:40that it was possible
29:42that the family problems
29:44distracted the pilot's attention,
29:46which led to the accident.
29:48Afterwards, everyone around
29:50remembered their interrogations.
29:52They said that Carolyn was
29:54a difficult woman
29:56and very demanding.
29:58But you never know
30:00how to distinguish the truth
30:02from rumors.
30:04Ladies and gentlemen,
30:06this is George.
30:08After the grand opening,
30:10he said,
30:12No, you shouldn't worry.
30:14We've got very promising plans
30:16for the future.
30:18Yeah.
30:20No, it's going to be fine.
30:22Yeah.
30:24He genuinely launched
30:26that magazine, George,
30:28with an interest in creating
30:30a new voice in V.I.P.
30:32to help his generation
30:34get to know the world of politics.
30:36No, you have nothing to worry about.
30:38Magazines are pretty expensive
30:40these days.
30:42I'm sure he had his own reasons
30:44to worry.
30:46Maybe that's why
30:48he got distracted from piloting.
30:50As in any activity,
30:52a person's psychological state
30:54might affect their behavior.
30:56That pilot may not understand
30:58that nerves play a key role
31:00in making decisions
31:02about whether it's safe
31:04to fly a plane
31:06in certain conditions.
31:08Saratoga 9253,
31:10takeoff from runway 22.
31:12John Kennedy Jr.
31:14seemed calm
31:16even in the most difficult situations.
31:18But what did he really feel?
31:20Could it be that
31:22he couldn't control
31:24his own plane
31:26because of stress and nerves?
31:28Over 300 flight hours.
31:30He wasn't a total rookie.
31:32He had a fair amount of experience.
31:34The investigators studied
31:36John Kennedy Jr.'s flight training
31:38to find out
31:40what he was like as a pilot.
31:42So what did he learn in 300 hours?
31:44I'd like to try to go back
31:46to the beginning.
31:48I'd like to try to go back
31:50to the beginning.
31:52I'd like to try to go back
31:54to the beginning.
31:55I'd like to try to go back to the beginning.
31:57I'd like to try to go back to the beginning.
32:00For 17 years,
32:02Kennedy took piloting lessons from time to time.
32:05But he didn't have much
32:07independent piloting experience.
32:09Can I start the landing?
32:13In Mr. Kennedy's case,
32:15there were 310 flight hours.
32:17But only 70 or 75 of them
32:19he was flying by himself.
32:20One, two, three,
32:22four, five, six.
32:2411 different instructors.
32:26I can't imagine
32:28any of them got along well.
32:30Over the years,
32:32Kennedy changed instructors many times.
32:34Should I throttle back more?
32:36I would not want to train
32:38to be an instructor.
32:40I would not want to train
32:42to be an instructor.
32:44I would not want to train
32:46to be an instructor.
32:48I would not want to train
32:50to be an instructor.
32:52I would prefer to stick
32:54with one instructor,
32:56especially if I was learning
32:58to work with instruments.
33:00Excuse me, I'm late.
33:02Are you coming with me today?
33:05Tim O'Neill was one of
33:07Kennedy's instructors.
33:09He was a very busy man.
33:11So he'd be running around.
33:13Sometimes he'd be running late.
33:15I hate that highway.
33:17It's full of traffic.
33:18When you're learning something,
33:20all the other problems
33:22are just in the way.
33:27So,
33:29I've read what you told
33:31my colleagues.
33:33I want to check something.
33:35The investigators learned
33:37one more detail.
33:39It turned out that
33:41everything could have gone
33:43very differently.
33:45Did you want to fly with him?
33:47Thanks for the offer,
33:49but I want to do it myself.
33:51Yeah.
33:53No, I appreciate the offer.
33:55That is probably
33:57the biggest decision right here.
33:59Kennedy wanted to do it himself
34:01without really understanding
34:03how much stress and nerves
34:05can affect a pilot's ability
34:07to manage himself.
34:09He's only qualified
34:11for visual flight.
34:13He hadn't finished his training
34:14at the time.
34:16The investigators learned
34:18that Kennedy had never
34:20been allowed to fly,
34:22which is important
34:24when flying at night
34:26or in bad weather.
34:28It's one of the hardest
34:30stages of preparing
34:32a beginner pilot.
34:34And it involves a lot of
34:36navigating inside the air.
34:38The pilot is allowed
34:40to be in zero visibility
34:42when there are clouds.
34:44Did he see anything?
34:46Or not?
34:48I need a detailed weather report.
34:51With an instrument ready,
34:53the pilot is allowed
34:55to continue flying
34:57even when there are clouds.
34:59And if there are no clouds,
35:01the pilot is not allowed
35:03to take off.
35:05According to computer data,
35:07Kennedy watched the forecast
35:09on the Internet
35:11at 6 hours 34 minutes.
35:13However, Caroline went shopping
35:15and then got stuck in a traffic jam,
35:18which delayed the flight
35:20by more than two hours.
35:22Where's your sister?
35:24I don't know.
35:26In a traffic jam, I guess.
35:28I told you it's always like this on Friday.
35:30By that time,
35:32the weather conditions
35:34were getting worse.
35:36The horizon line was covered by clouds.
35:38I just need to confirm
35:40what conditions were like
35:42on Friday.
35:44The investigators confirmed
35:46that visibility was bad that night,
35:48especially at a height of less than two kilometers,
35:50where Kennedy was flying.
35:52He probably didn't see anything.
35:54There was smoke in the sky.
35:56Some stations reported fog.
36:01It's starting to get a bit soggy.
36:03Hopefully, it clears up
36:05before we get there.
36:07The investigators believe
36:09that Kennedy had to fly
36:10under low visibility conditions
36:12to control the plane.
36:14The darkness and the smoke
36:16prevented the pilot from flying
36:18according to his visual orientation,
36:20not according to the instruments.
36:24Not a great night for a flight.
36:29Weather plays an important role
36:31in all aircraft accidents,
36:33even in the most unobvious cases.
36:36The investigators wanted to know
36:37whether Kennedy had received
36:39any weather information
36:41during the flight.
36:43127.25
36:45To find out the exact data,
36:47he had to tune the radio
36:49to the frequency of the weather report
36:51from Martha Swinyard.
36:54The transmitter was found
36:56among the sunken debris of the plane.
37:00The investigators checked
37:02whether it was working during the flight,
37:04and then decided to look
37:05at the frequency it was tuned to.
37:09Fingers crossed, we'll find out
37:11what it was listening to.
37:17Show me that frequency again.
37:20126.25
37:22He was wrong by one.
37:26Kennedy tuned the radio
37:28to the wrong frequency.
37:30In this case,
37:32the frequency was off by one.
37:34The find told the investigators
37:36that during the flight
37:38Kennedy did not receive
37:40all the necessary weather information.
37:42And now they knew something else.
37:44It seems they will finally be able
37:46to explain the causes of the disaster
37:48that saddened America.
37:57The investigators had a version
37:59that could explain
38:01how John Kennedy Jr. died
38:03and his wife Carolyn
38:05and her sister Lauren.
38:07In the center of attention
38:09was a pilot
38:11with many life-threatening problems
38:13who found himself in a difficult situation.
38:15No, you shouldn't worry.
38:17I'm having problems at work,
38:19I need to get to this wedding,
38:21and my ankle still hurts.
38:23But I have an airplane.
38:25I need to get from point A to point B.
38:27I bought an airplane
38:29and learned how to fly it,
38:31so we'll fly it.
38:33But something went wrong.
38:37127.25
38:41The radio was not set up well
38:43and the foggy weather
38:45allowed the investigators to guess
38:47what exactly caused
38:49the tragic crash of the plane.
38:51It all started right after New York.
38:56Because of the fog,
38:58Kennedy could not determine
39:00where the horizon was.
39:04Visibility was bad
39:06and it was getting worse.
39:08He starts to descend.
39:13As it was getting dark
39:15and the weather conditions
39:17were getting worse,
39:19the area for visual orientation
39:21was very difficult,
39:23especially for a visual-oriented pilot.
39:25He was over the sea,
39:27all the lights were behind him
39:29and he had no orientation.
39:31He looks away from his instruments
39:33for a second.
39:38127.25
39:42The frequency was wrong.
39:44Maybe he was tuning the radio.
39:48Maybe he thought
39:50that the frequency had changed
39:52or that he had forgotten it.
39:54Still nothing.
39:57Something is wrong with the radio.
39:59No big deal.
40:01While all of that was going on,
40:03the plane could easily
40:05turn in one direction
40:07or the other.
40:11If you're in a plane
40:13that turns in one direction
40:15for a long time,
40:17the pilot can get into
40:19problems with his inner ear
40:21and he can easily lose
40:23his orientation in space.
40:25What the...
40:27What?
40:28He can't do that.
40:30The instruments were telling him one thing
40:32and his own feelings were telling him another.
40:34What the...
40:41You have to be well-trained
40:43to forget about your own feelings
40:45and rely only on the instruments.
40:47They're watching the sensors
40:49and they're following them.
40:55What the hell?
40:56John?
40:58John!
41:00Just wait.
41:02Come on.
41:04Level off.
41:06What are you doing?
41:08Come on!
41:13Kennedy lost his orientation in space.
41:15Because of the lack of experience,
41:17he couldn't let go of his own feelings
41:19and rely on the instruments.
41:21Nothing's working.
41:23Maybe he didn't even know
41:25that he was flying at low altitude
41:27and he was about to hit the water.
41:31So it's the only thing that fits.
41:37Spatial disorientation.
41:40You're really left with
41:42the classic case of loss
41:44of spatial disorientation.
41:46Unfortunately,
41:48that's how Kennedy died.
41:50Oh, God!
41:52Oh, God!
41:54Oh, God!
42:19The investigators came to the conclusion
42:21that the strange trajectory of the flight
42:23was explained by the pilot's attempts
42:25to level off the plane.
42:27That is one sad trajectory.
42:29Spatial disorientation.
42:31A classic case.
42:39According to the conclusion
42:41of the National Safety Council
42:43on Transport,
42:45Kennedy failed to control the plane
42:47at night while descending over the water.
42:49Wide-eyed,
42:51the public's attention
42:53was drawn to the danger
42:55of spatial disorientation,
42:57especially for novice pilots.
43:00I always try to teach students
43:02to be ready to buy a plane ticket.
43:04That was the worst case scenario.
43:06My student leaves his plane,
43:08calls me,
43:10and I take it instead of him.
43:12You need to always have a backup plan.
43:14And a plane ticket
43:16is your best out.
43:17I don't think the public
43:19wanted to accept the fact
43:21that Kennedy died
43:23because of a control error
43:25or, even worse,
43:27because of his own arrogance.
43:29Losing him was one thing,
43:31but losing him is his own mistake.
43:33And the reason for that
43:35was even more sad.
43:37A young person
43:39who was a source of hope
43:41for the young man,
43:43he'd have a chance
43:45to become a new president
43:47when the American
43:49seemed to have lost
43:51a part of his soul.
43:53It was a real tragedy.