John F Kennedy Jr. died together with his wife and other two people on board in a 1999 plane that crashed while attempting to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The NTSB report indicates that the aircraft took several random downward turns as the pilot tried to cross a water stretch towards the desired destination (Wiegmann & Shappell, 2017). As a result of the unexpected twists, the plane hit the water in a descending altitude. All the blames shifted to the errors made by the pilot that led to what transpired on that fateful day.
The National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) investigations suggest several factors that might have led to the Piper Saratoga N9253N. The first investigation indicates that John F. Kennedy Jr. who was piloting the plane held a private license and hence he was not authorized by law to fly airplanes. Another determination held that the crew flew the aircraft for a total of 310 hours, 50 of them being night hours. The approximated flight time of the team that rustled in the crash was 35 hours, 9 of which were night hours (Vuorio et al., 2018). Another investigation suggests that the weather forecast the pilot received observed the regulations of visual flight. That day, the weather was characterized by clear visibility and so the expected no optical illusions along the intended route. Pilots operating on the same airline as John F. Kennedy Jr. reported to visual hallucinations while driving over the water horizon probably due to haze. Investigations into the airframe after the mishap by NTSB, as well as its engine and avionics, discovered to technical hick-ups that could have resulted in such a crash.
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The crew's failure to control the plane due to spatial disorientation is cited as the leading cause that resulted in the crash of flight N9253N. The pilot failed to control the airplane as he cruised over water and finally landed in a ditch killing three other passengers that were on board. When all factors are held constant, the visual flight rule vetted crew would depend on optical signals to sense and retain orientation and fly the plane safely to the desired destination (Vuorio et al., 2018). However, the day of the accident lacked visual cues, and the pilot relied only on the machine flying tricks of which he had not learned so much about. The crew, therefore, become disoriented as he could not interpret the present altitude and airspeed as per the reference mainly located on earth.
As a result of the accident that involved John F. Kennedy Jr., the federal aviation authority recommended all pilots to always acquaint themselves with the terrains in the environment in which they operate from such as natural features and obstacles created by man ( Wiegmann & Shappell, 2017). When flying at night, the pilot who is not familiar with the environment may approach a darkened hillside in the runway which may prevent him from perceiving the erected terrain. Being aware of the territories in surroundings, therefore, is important for flight crews.
In conclusion, the NTSB reported several humanly factors that contributed to the plane crash that involved John F. Kennedy Jr. One of the contributing factors emanated from the crew's failure of asking for up to date weather information when the plane was in the air even if the pilot is reported to have been within reach of several radio-range contacts which could have helped in the air traffic control along the runway. Another factor was that the crew lacked enough experience which could have helped him emerge successfully out of the situation he was placed.
References
Vuorio, A., Budowle, B., Sajantila, A., Laukkala, T., Junttila, I., Kravik, S. E., & Griffiths, R. (2018). The duty of notification and aviation safety-a study of fatal aviation accidents in the United States in 2015. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health , 15 (6), e15061258-e15061258.
Wiegmann, D. A., & Shappell, S. A. (2017). A human error approach to aviation accident analysis: The human factors analysis and classification system . Routledge. Retrieved from https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781315263878
