Did you know the airplane recovered from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean is not the same plane JFK Jr. owned or flew and that witnesses said they heard a loud explosion and saw a white flash in the sky where the plane went missing?
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The Full Story
Not the same airplane
Out of the dozens of conspiracies regarding the fateful July 16, 1999 crash of JKF Jr.'s Piper Saratoga four seater airplane into the Atlantic Ocean, 17 miles off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, one should stick out as the most obvious clue that the crash was staged—the plane pulled from the bottom of the Atlantic is not the same airplane that JFK Jr. owned or flew.
The airplane Kennedy owned and flew had tail numbers N9253N. The plane recovered from the Atlantic Ocean had tail numbers ending in GJBL as well as a different tail design and paint job.
Aircraft No. N9253N
JFK Jr. had recently purchased a new Piper PA-32R-301, Saratoga II, single-engine, low-wing airplane with tail numbers N9253N, and had 40 total flight hours in his new plane, however he had well over the 250 hour minimum to acquire a commercial pilot certificate.
Kennedy had been been flying for many years and had started his flying instruction nearly 17 years before the crash. He was reported to be a very meticulous pilot and never took any risks.
Kennedy had flown 35 times to or from Essex County, New Jersey and Martha’s Vineyard/Hyannis, Massachusetts. Nearly half of these flights during the 15 months prior to the crash were without a certified flight instructor.
The "doomed" flight
Kennedy's wife Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and her sister, Lauren Bessette, were also on the flight headed to his cousin Rory Kennedy’s wedding at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.
JFK Jr. and company had planned to make a pit stop in Martha’s Vineyard, where they also dropped off Bessette’s sister, before venturing to Hyannis for the ceremony. However, something went awry nearly an hour after take off.
Bodies found, footage lost
When the plane didn’t arrive on schedule, it was reported missing by their family. Senator Kennedy called President Clinton to have an official search begin (the following day).
Divers later recovered the wreckage (not the same plane Kennedy flew) from the Atlantic ocean floor on July 21, 1999, and ultimately announced the groups’ deaths.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the accident was caused by pilot error.
Underwater video footage of the extraction of Kennedy's body, reported to be still strapped in the pilot's seat, was accidentally lost or destroyed.
"Explosion in the sky"
There were two eyewitnesses and one "ear"-witness to an airborne explosion over the water to the southwest of Philbin Beach on Gay Head, Martha's Vineyard, at about 9:40 PM July 16.
According to several media outlets reporting live on the crash, including WCVB-TV Boston, one of these eyewitnesses was a reporter for the Vineyard Gazette who said he was walking on Philbin Beach around 9:40 PM and saw "a big white flash in the sky".
A Pennsylvania lawyer, Victor Pribanic, 45, was fishing on Squibnocket Point in Chilmark Friday night and heard "a loud explosion-like sound" from the direction of Nomans Land, where the search for the plane had concentrated.
Pribanic spoke with local and state police Saturday morning after learning of the disappearance of the plane piloted by Mr. Kennedy.
John F. Kennedy, Jr. and his wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, both of whom were said to be found dead in the crash wreckage.
John F. Kennedy, Jr.'s Piper PA-32R-301, Saratoga II, single-engine, low-wing airplane with tail numbers N9253N.
Picture of plane wreckage pulled from the Atlantic vs. JFK Jr.'s Piper Saratoga.
CNN footage of search for wreckage and survivors. Teams looked for over five days as the black box continued to ping.
People have long noted that agents in the National Transportation and Safety investigation photos look very similar to JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy.
Although the Kennedy and Bessette families were planning burial services, the Pentagon (which took over the investigation due to the high-profile nature of President Kennedy's son) cremated the bodies and had a burial at sea with 17 family members in attendance. All three were Catholic and no Kennedy family had previously been cremated.
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