7.30.99 Recipients-- Here's what the NTSB has to say about Kennedy's plane. As an investigative agency in the FIRST STAGES of an investigation, they have NO BUSINESS issuing anything but factual data. Speculative, unfounded and disinformative (at best) comments have NO PLACE in any such official "announcements". Unfortunately the NTSB engages in just such speculation and disinformation in their statements. What a surprise. To keep things straight we've countered such instances of official rumor-mongering with FACTS, in the article as reprinted below. NewsHawk Inc. ========================== http://www.abcnews.go.com/wire/US/Reuters19990730_1447.html WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Investigators have found no evidence that John F. Kennedy Jr.'s plane broke up in flight or caught fire, the National Transportation Safety Board said Friday. (This statement is FUNDAMENTALLY SPECULATIVE [of COURSE!], as the plane sure as hell broke up SOMEWHERE, and the NTSB has no basis WHATSOEVER for ASSUMING it broke up on water... ESPECIALLY considering there are several eyewitnesses to an AIRBORNE explosion!-JQ) The board also said it saw nothing that would have prevented either the engine or the propeller from operating. Kennedy, his wife and sister-in-law died when the Piper Saratoga he was piloting plunged into the waters off Martha's Vineyard two weeks ago. (This depiction by Reuters and/or NTSB that the plane was destroyed as a RESULT of "plunging" into water is SPECULATION and CONTRARY TO THE FACTS! Namely; that radar shows a flight with excellent conditions, a top-notch pilot and and a highly reliable, fully functional craft plunged into the sea RIGHT AFTER Kennedy radioed the airport indicating all was well with the flight... and RIGHT AFTER eyewitnesses saw and heard a large, airborne explosion!-JQ) Experienced pilots have THEORIZED that Kennedy, who was licensed to fly only under visual flight rules, became disoriented flying at night over the water and lost control of the aircraft in a spiraling dive on the evening of July 16. (More complete and UTTER speculation contrary to KNOWN facts!-JQ) "So far these findings are consistent with spatial disorientation that all human beings experience if they do not have reference to a horizon -- either a natural horizon or one provided by instruments," said Mike Pangia, a Washington-based pilot and aviation lawyer. (Kennedy DID have reference not only to the horizon--as visibility is proven to have been EXCELLENT, but ALSO he had clear reference to heavily populated and "light-polluted" Martha's Vineyard itself: he was only several miles from the nearest shore when his craft was destroyed!-JQ) In a statement the NTSB said Kennedy received an Internet weather forecast at 6:30 p.m. EDT showing the weather along his flight route from New Jersey to Massachusetts was good for visual flight with six to eight miles visibility. (Weather radar returns from ONE HOUR AFTER Kennedy's plane was destroyed indicate EXCELLENT conditions at Martha's Vineyard that night! The weather radar image at Xoom's website, http://members.xoom.com/flashradar/JFK.htm shows that the radar equipment at 10:40 Friday night July 16 was set in "CLEAR" mode. This mode is actually much MORE sensitive to moisture and such in the air than the "PRECIPITATION" setting. It can even detect SMOKE! Thus the dense, solid-looking returns around the NYC metro and (central) Long Island areas. Therefore it IS a valid interpretation that this radar image shows virtually no such heavy moisture around MARTHA'S VINEYARD at 10:40 PM July 16.-JQ) Kennedy did not take off from the airport in Caldwell, New Jersey, until 8:38 p.m. Although no special weather reports were posted, some pilots reported visibility over the water was significantly lower at that time. (In the NYC area!!-JQ) "Interviews of those pilots will continue," NTSB said. (Oh really?-JQ) The wreckage and bodies of Kennedy, 38, his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, 33, and her sister Lauren Bessette, 34, were found after a massive search using Coast Guard and Navy vessels. The ashes of all three were scattered at sea just over a week ago. The safety board said it had recovered about 75 percent of the fuselage, including about 80 percent of the left wing, 60 percent of the right wing and the instrument panel. The engine and propeller were examined at the hangar at the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station, Cape Cod, where the wreckage is being held. The prop and powerplant were then sent to their respective manufacturers for further study. (WHY have ALL previous news reports said the wreckage was being held at OTIS AIR FORCE BASE??-JQ) "No evidence was found during the examinations of conditions that would have prevented either the engine or the propeller from operating," NTSB said. Previously released radar data of Kennedy's final moments in the air show some turns and relatively gentle changes in altitude before starting a right turn and plunging at a rate of 5,000 feet per minute. NTSB confirmed Kennedy received his private pilot's license in April 1998 and accumulated about 300 HOURS of flying experience, NOT INCLUDING time in the Saratoga. (Kennedy's federal licensing instructor John McColgan of Vero Beach maintains Kennedy had over SIX HUNDRED HOURS flight experience!-JQ) The board said it will continue its examination of the plane's avionics and instruments as well as continue to research Kennedy's flight time and training. A voice recording device that was in the cockpit was retrieved but had been destroyed by impact. (Well isn't THAT convenient!-JQ) 1999 ABC News
