Here’s if Carolyn Bessette ‘Knew What Was Happening’ During Fatal 30-Second Plane Crash as Sources Claim She Was ‘Terrified’ of How She Would Die
Unlike her husband, John F. Kennedy Jr., we don’t know as much about Carolyn Bessette’s life. And according to the Kennedy family, Ryan Murphy’s Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette is anything but faithful. But the show does end where real life tragically ended, with the death of JFK Jr, Carolyn, and her sister Lauren.
But how did Carolyn Bessette die? What about JFK Jr. and her sister Lauren? And what did the investigation into the matter uncover?
What Was Carolyn Bessette’s Cause of Death?
Carolyn Bessette died on July 16, 1999, when the small plane JFK Jr. was piloting crashed into the ocean. The couple and Carolyn’s sister, Lauren, all perished in the crash.
At the time, Carolyn and Lauren’s family released a statement about what happened that read, “Each of these three young people — Lauren Bessette, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr. — was the embodiment of love, accomplishment and passion for life. John and Carolyn were true soul mates [and took] solace in the thought that together they will comfort Lauren for eternity.”
What happened? In 2000, the National Transportation Safety Board declared in a report that pilot error was the most likely cause of the crash. According to reports, Kennedy became disoriented while flying through thick fog over the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, which caused the plane to spiral downward and crash into the ocean.
The Washington Post reported that all in all, the plane’s descent only lasted around 30 seconds. Navy divers recovered the three bodies on July 21, 1999. Autopsies concluded they all died upon impact.
According to experts, the descent was quick enough the passengers didn’t really know what was going on. “In my personal opinion, I don’t think the passengers knew what was happening to them,” Jeff Guzzetti, who was a National Transportation Safety Board investigator at the time of Kennedy’s death, said in the book JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography. “They might have felt a little G-force pushing them down in their seats. You would’ve heard the rush of air over the fuselage accelerate or get louder, during the final fatal plunge … And then they hit the surface of the water and it’s over.”
In the eighth episode of Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette we saw the couple’s reaction to the death of Princess Diana. The show portrays Carolyn as devastated, saying, “They killed her. She did everything right. Posed for every photo. Gave them everything they wanted. And they still killed her.” She then tries to talk to her husband about the death of his own father.
“This is nothing like what me and Caroline went through. They’re princes. They’re members of a monarchy. I was 3 when my dad died. I grew up 60 blocks from here. I rode my bike to school. It’s night and day,” JFK Jr. says.
Once Upon a Time, the biography of the couple by Elizabeth Beller that inspired the show, says that Princess Diana’s death affected Carolyn immensely. “Just a month earlier, Carolyn had sat behind Diana at Gianni Versace’s funeral, whose death, it could be argued, was also a result of his fame. She couldn’t help but wonder if a similar fate would befall her. Carolyn was terrified,” the 2024 biography read.
