Published on: July 15, 2012
The National Enquirer
Secret documents reveal the truth behind JFK Jr.s tragic death!
John F. Kennedy Jr. went bravely to his watery grave, trying valiantly to save the lives of his passengers - his wife Carolyn and her sister Lauren.
But a government cover-up has stopped the truth of what really
happened inside Kennedy's small plane before it crashed into the
Atlantic Ocean on July 16, 1999, from ever being made public.
A year after the tragedy, the National Transportation Safety Board
(NTSB) blamed the crash on a "graveyard spiral" that hurtled the plane
toward the sea at nearly 5,000 feet per minute.
NTSB Identification: NYC99MA178.
The docket is stored in the Docket Management System (DMS). Please contact Records Management Division
Accident occurred Friday, July 16, 1999 in VINEYARD HAVEN, MA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 07/06/2000
Aircraft: Piper PA-32R-301, registration: N9253N
Injuries: 3 Fatal. The
noninstrument-rated pilot obtained weather forecasts for a
cross-country flight, which indicated visual flight rules (VFR)
conditions with clear skies and visibilities that varied between 4 to 10
miles along his intended route. The pilot then departed on a dark
night. According to a performance study of radar data, the airplane
proceeded over land at 5,500 feet. About 34 miles west of Martha's
Vineyard Airport, while crossing a 30-mile stretch of water to its
destination, the airplane began a descent that varied between 400 to 800
feet per minute (fpm). About 7 miles from the approaching shore, the
airplane began a right turn. The airplane stopped its descent at 2,200
feet, then climbed back to 2,600 feet and entered a left turn. While in
the left turn, the airplane began another descent that reached about
900 fpm. While still in the descent, the airplane entered a right turn.
During this turn, the airplane's rate of descent and airspeed
increased. The airplane's rate of descent eventually exceeded 4,700
fpm, and the airplane struck the water in a nose-down attitude.
Airports along the coast reported visibilities between 5 and 8 miles.
Other pilots flying similar routes on the night of the accident reported
no visual horizon while flying over the water because of haze. The
pilot's estimated total flight experience was about 310 hours, of which
55 hours were at night. The pilot's estimated flight time in the
accident airplane was about 36 hours, of which about 9.4 hours were at
night. About 3 hours of that time was without a certified flight
instructor (CFI) on board, and about 0.8 hour of that was flown at night
and included a night landing. In the 15 months before the accident,
the pilot had flown either to or from the destination area about 35
times. The pilot flew at least 17 of these flight legs without a CFI on
board, of which 5 were at night. Within 100 days before the accident,
the pilot had completed about 50 percent of a formal instrument training
course. A Federal Aviation Administration Advisory Circular (AC)
61-27C, "Instrument Flying: Coping with Illusions in Flight," states
that illusions or false impressions occur when information provided by
sensory organs is misinterpreted or inadequate and that many illusions
in flight could be caused by complex motions and certain visual scenes
encountered under adverse weather conditions and at night. The AC also
states that some illusions might lead to spatial disorientation or the
inability to determine accurately the attitude or motion of the aircraft
in relation to the earth's surface. The AC further states that spatial
disorientation, as a result of continued VFR flight into adverse
weather conditions, is regularly near the top of the cause/factor list
in annual statistics on fatal aircraft accidents. According to AC
60-4A, "Pilot's Spatial Disorientation," tests conducted with qualified
instrument pilots indicated that it can take as long as 35 seconds to
establish full control by instruments after a loss of visual reference
of the earth's surface. AC 60-4A further states that surface references
and the natural horizon may become obscured even though visibility may
be above VFR minimums and that an inability to perceive the natural
horizon or surface references is common during flights over water, at
night, in sparsely populated areas, and in low-visibility conditions.
Examination of the airframe, systems, avionics, and engine did not
reveal any evidence of a preimpact mechanical malfunction.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The
pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during a descent
over water at night, which was a result of spatial disorientation.
Factors in the accident were haze, and the dark night.
No comments:
Post a Comment