JFK Jr. Crash Mystery Solved — How His Wife Carolyn Bessette's 'Fatal' Cell Phone Call May Have Mangled Plane Instruments
John F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife, Carolyn Bessette, died in 1999.
Feb. 26 2026, Published 12:56 p.m. ET
More than 25 years ago, John F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife, Carolyn Bessette, died in a tragic plane crash – but it's possible the mystery of what exactly went wrong could finally be solved.
Michael Pangia, a pilot with more than 40 years of experience and a former chief trial lawyer for the Federal Aviation Administration, suggested a single cell phone call could have contributed to the shocking accident, RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal.
What Happened Before the Plane Crash?
John F. Kennedy Jr. was flying a small aircraft off the coast of Martha's Vineyard before the crash.
In July 1999, Kennedy and Bessette died after their single-engine aircraft plummeted over 1,000 feet and smashed into the ocean during a flight off the coast of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts.
His sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette, was also killed in the accident.
While the National Transportation Safety Board found that Kennedy, who was a relatively inexperienced pilot, likely became disoriented and lost control of the aircraft, Pangia believes that it could have been a combination of inexperience and a phone call Bessette made on board.
"Kennedy was over the water making his approach at that time," Pangia told Radar. "It is possible that a cellular phone call could have interfered with his instruments...creating a false reading."
John F. Kennedy was considered a relatively inexperienced instrument pilot.
"There is another consideration – the distraction," Pangia added. "If you're not an experienced instrument pilot, just talk in the cockpit is a distraction."
"A pilot can tolerate distraction if he is instrument rated and doing it all the time," he continued. "But Kennedy was like a brand new driver who has insufficient experience driving on an icy road at night and someone is babbling away."
Ted Kennedy Confirmed JFK Jr.'s Death
The Kennedy family was left with 'unspeakable grief' after JFK Jr.'s death.
On July 21, 1999, the wreckage and the bodies of Kennedy, Bessette, and her sister, were found by Navy divers. After they were identified, Ted Kennedy released a statement on behalf of the family confirming their deaths.
"We are filled with unspeakable grief and sadness by the loss of John and Carolyn and Lauren Bessette. John was a shining light in all our lives and in the lives of the nation and the world that first came to know him as a little boy," he said in a statement obtained by The Washington Post.
"We are more grateful than we can ever say for the support of our family, our friends, and so many of our fellow Americans who opened their hearts to John," the statement continued. "We also thank in a very special way the men and women who have worked well and long and hard in these past days to find John, Carolyn, and Lauren. We will never forget the dedication, the professionalism, and the sensitivity they have shown."
What Happened to JFK Jr.'s Plane After the Crash?
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JFK Jr. was flying a six-seat Piper Saratoga at the time of the crash.
According to an aviation expert, the ruined remains of Kennedy's Piper Saratoga plane was "junked as scrap metal" – a sad outcome that the aircraft's previous owner, Munrir Hussain, disagreed with at the time.
"I don't think the John Kennedy plane should have ended up as scrap," Hussain told Radar. "That's not right."
