A little girl places flowers at the door to John and Carolyn Kennedy's Tribeca apartment building VIDEO CNN's Ann Kellan describes the sonar that will give searchers a better idea of the size and shape of objects in the water Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Carl Rochelle gives information about Piper Saratoga aircraft Windows Media 28K 80K Man describes finding a piece of luggage from the plane Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Larry King talks to John F. Kennedy Jr. in a September 28, 1995 interview Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Frank Buckley reports on the debris found on the beach Windows Media 28K 80K  ALSO: Kennedy's intended route Searchers scale back hunt for Kennedy plane during night Timeline for flight of Kennedy's missing plane Kennedy, Bessette families somber but hopeful Kennedy disappearance leads news bulletins in many countries Anxiety at prospect of yet another Kennedy tragedy Clinton expresses concern for Kennedy family Wedding postponed, family gathers at Kennedy compound Tragedy and the Kennedy clan John F. Kennedy Jr.: A life in the spotlight Events in the life of John F. Kennedy Jr. Joining Kennedy clan meant life in a fishbowl George magazine, the brainchild of JFK Jr. JFK Jr.'s plane a sleek aircraft with good safety record Friend's phone call launches search for JFK Jr. Visitors to Kennedy museum shaken by latest tragedy  CHAT: Chat about the John F. Kennedy Jr. story now MESSAGE BOARDS: JFK, Jr.'s plane missing

July 17, 1999
Web posted at: 11:16 p.m. EDT (0316 GMT)

In this story: Fuel slick spotted, but no debris field Kennedys await news at family compound Mood 'hopeful and yet realistic' Fellow pilot reports hazy conditions Plane last on radar 17 miles from coast Witnesses report finding debris off beach RELATED STORIES, SITES

BOSTON (CNN) -- An anxious day of waiting for word on the fate of John F. Kennedy Jr. turned into night Saturday without any news from searchers combing the seas off of Massachusetts where his plane was last seen by radar on Friday.

While a scaled-back search was expected to continue through the night, many of the helicopters and planes that had conducted an aerial search for most of the day returned to their bases as darkness fell. A full-scale search is expected to resume at daylight Sunday.

Kennedy, 38, his wife, Carolyn, 33, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, were aboard the Piper Saratoga II that failed to arrive Friday night in Martha's Vineyard, en route from New Jersey to Hyannisport, Massachusetts, where the Kennedys were to attend a family wedding.

Debris -- including a suitcase with Bessette's business card in the luggage tag and other items "consistent with an aircraft" -- were found in the waters off Philbin Beach, near the community of Aquinnah, early Saturday afternoon, according to Coast Guard officials.

Later, officials reported finding a prescription bottle with Carolyn Kennedy's name on it.

Fuel slick spotted, but no debris field

U.S. Air Force Capt. Richard Defrancesco told CNN that a fuel slick was found about 20 miles to the west of Martha's Vineyard. However, he said it was not clear whether the slick was caused by aviation fuel or came from a passing ship. No debris field was seen, he said.

A Massachusetts State Police dive team was brought into the area to aid in the search. A vessel from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, equipped with sonar for underwater searches, joined the effort Saturday evening, said Coast Guard Rear Adm. Richard Larrabee.

The same NOAA ship was used to investigate the TWA 800 disaster three years ago.

"We are still in the search and rescue phase," Larrabee said. "We're not ready to give up on this yet."

A National Transportation Safety Board team has been dispatched to investigate the incident.

Kennedys await news at family compound

Larrabee said Coast Guard officials had been in close contact with the family of Kennedy, founder of George magazine and the son of the assassinated president and the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

He and his wife were traveling to Hyannisport to attend the wedding Saturday of his cousin, Rory Kennedy, the youngest child of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.

The wedding was canceled, and a somber mood descended on the Hyannisport compound, where many family members gathered to wait for news.

"This is a real tragedy," family friend Rowland Evans told CNN. "The Kennedys have a habit of gathering around in an extraordinary way in a situation like this."

Mood 'hopeful and yet realistic'

Darkness descends over Philbin Beach, the area where luggage from the missing plane and airplane debris washed ashore

New York Daily News columnist and Kennedy family friend Mike Barnicle, who visited the compound on Saturday afternoon, described the mood as "hopeful and yet realistic."

"The core of this family is such that they would refuse to make any concession to the obvious until they had to," he told CNN.

In front of the Kennedys' apartment building in the Tribeca section of New York City, people stopped by during the day to leave flowers. Yellow ribbons were put up around Martha's Vineyard.

People also held vigils at the eternal flame at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, where Kennedy's parents are both buried, and at the School Book Depository in Dallas, where President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.

Fellow pilot reports hazy conditions

The search for Kennedy's plane, which took off from the Essex County Airport in Fairfield, New Jersey, just after 8:30 p.m. EDT Friday, included units from the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Civil Air Patrol.

Kyle Bailey, who owns a plane and flies out of the same New Jersey airport, said he saw Kennedy going through a preflight check. Bailey scrapped his own plans to fly to Martha's Vineyard because of hazy conditions.

"I stopped by to check my plane and I saw (Kennedy) and his wife entering the plane," Bailey said. "Visibility was real poor -- I'd say 3 to 4 miles -- and especially flying over water at that time of night in that plane in the haze and low visibility, I'd say could be a problem."

However, Larrabee said there are "no indications of problems with weather or equipment." Weather conditions along what would have been the plane's flight path were quiet overnight, with light clouds, light wind and some haze.

Kennedy, who earned his pilot's license last year, had not filed a flight plan, but aviation regulations did not require him to file one.

Plane last on radar 17 miles from coast

The plane was last tracked on radar about 17 miles southwest of Martha's Vineyard. Larrabee said the plane made no known radio contact with air traffic controllers during the flight.

At about 2:15 a.m. Saturday, family members, concerned that Kennedy had never arrived, contacted the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA launched an investigation to see whether the plane might have landed at another location. After it had been determined that it had not, a search began at about 7:30 a.m., Larrabee said.

The original search area extended along the entire flight route from New Jersey to Martha's Vineyard, but it was narrowed to the area immediately off the coast after debris began to turn up, he said.

Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Dennis Hall said the search focused on an area 5 to 10 miles off Aquinnah, formerly Gay Head, on the western tip of Martha's Vineyard.

Ironically, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis owned a estate in the Aquinnah area that she left to her son and his sister, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, when she died in 1994.

Schlossberg is not at the family compound. She was on trip in the West when she learned of her brother's disappearance and is believed to be en route to Massachusetts.

Witnesses report finding debris off beach

The man who found Lauren Bessette's suitcase on Philbin Beach, Damon Selicson, told CNN Boston affiliate WBZ that the case contained a hair dryer and other personal items, as well as a business card with her name on it.

Beachgoers found a suitcase with the business card of Lauren Bessette in the luggage tag

"I dragged (the suitcase) out of the water," he said. "Everyone was very, very upset. We pulled it up, we put it where we were sitting and we called the police."

Another witness, Gordon Campbell, said he saw police take away three pieces of luggage -- an aqua-green duffel bag, an attache case and a small black bag, all of which appeared to be intact.

Campbell, a pilot, also reported seeing what looked like the wheel of an airplane.

Margaret Napolitan, director of air safety for the plane's manufacturer, New Piper Aircraft Inc., of Vero Beach, Florida, confirmed that the plane was equipped with an emergency beacon that should have gone off at impact. However, she said the signal would likely not have been detectable if the device sank in the ocean.

Chuck Suma, president of New Piper, said Kennedy had trained on a similar, though slightly smaller and less powerful, aircraft. He had also taken a tour of the Piper factory during his training, Suma said.

Kennedy bought the used Piper Saratoga in April, Suma said. The plane, which sells for $325,000 to $350,000 new, was manufactured in June 1995. More than 7,500 of the planes are in service worldwide, he said.

The string of tragedies that have befallen the Kennedy family include several air disasters. John F. Kennedy's brother, Joe, was shot down in a plane during World War II, and another sister, Kathleen, died in a crash a few years later. Sen. Edward Kennedy, the brother of the slain president, was seriously injured in a crash in 1964.

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