JFK Jr.'s 1999 crash prompted the largest U.S. at‑sea search for a private citizen

The July 16, 1999 crash of a Piper Saratoga II that departed Essex County Airport more than two hours behind schedule led to the largest at‑sea search for a private citizen in U.S. history, involving 32 agencies such as the Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and FAA, and the aircraft went down nose‑first about 11.67 km southwest of Martha’s Vineyard at around 9:40 p.m., crashing just over an hour after takeoff.

Navy divers located John F. Kennedy Jr.’s body roughly 10 feet from the wreckage, and the plane’s roof was torn off leaving the fuselage exposed like a bathtub, where the bodies of Carolyn and Lauren were found inside and identified by hair colour.