Larrabee explains how the search is being coordinated RELATED VIDEO CNN's Miles O'Brien reports on the pilot training of John F. Kennedy Jr. and the aircraft he was flying (July 18) Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Frank Buckley reports on search efforts (July 18) Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's David Ensor reports on the relationship between President Clinton and the Kennedys (July 18) Windows Media 28K 80K To view the latest video streams, use the arrow buttons below to scroll through the video gallery.        Windows Media Real        28 K 80 K  SPECIAL: In-Depth: John F. Kennedy Jr.   • Profile   • Pictorial Biography   • In his own words   • Flight Path and Search Area   • The Kennedy Tragedies   • Reactions  ALSO: Developments: Kennedy, Bessette families somber but hopeful The flight: JFK Jr.'s routine flight goes awry Reaction: World's eyes again drawn to Kennedy family drama Background: John F. Kennedy Jr.: A life in the spotlight Tragedy has repeatedly stalked Kennedy clan The Dynasty: TIME 100 Looks at the Kennedys MESSAGE BOARDS: JFK, Jr.'s plane missing

July 18, 1999
Web posted at: 3:46 p.m. EDT (1946 GMT)

In this story: Search narrowed Hopes diminishing RELATED STORIES, SITES

BOSTON (CNN) -- The National Transportation Safety Board has joined the investigation into the disappearance of John F. Kennedy Jr.'s single-engine plane, adding a recovery aspect to the search-and-rescue mission Sunday.

Coast Guard Rear Adm. Richard Larrabee said the search agencies were setting up a unified command post at the Coast Guard station on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to coordinate efforts to find Kennedy's Piper Saratoga II HP.

The plane vanished Friday night while on a flight from New Jersey to Martha's Vineyard.

"We are still searching for survivors. We are still searching for more clues as to where this plane might have gone in," Larrabee said. "We're going to continue to search for the rest of the day."

But Coast Guard officials said a person might reasonably expect to survive 12 hours in the 68-degree Atlantic waters off Martha's Vineyard. The Kennedy plane is believed to have gone down shortly after 9:30 p.m. Friday.

"The survivability in those waters has been exceeded," Larrabee said, "but I think those are only statistics, and they're only factors in all of the things we're looking at."

Helicopters were making a painstaking sweep of the area where officials believe the plane crashed. With Kennedy on the plane were his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and her sister Lauren Bessette.

Officials said part of a headrest and some insulation were the only significant pieces of debris searchers found Sunday morning. The insulation was found along the beach, Massachusetts State Police Capt. Robert Bird said.

Crews focused their search Sunday around a 550-square-mile area just southwest of Martha's Vineyard, but Larrabee said searchers also were still looking further afield.

"We're really covering a very large area this morning that's 1,200 square miles, and that's to make sure we haven't missed something that drifted away from us," he said.

The search, originally covering a much larger area between Long Island and the Vineyard, shrunk considerably Saturday afternoon when debris and personal items identified as coming from Kennedy's plane were found just off the shore at Aquinnah.

Radar data put the plane about 17 miles from Martha's Vineyard just before it vanished about an hour after takeoff from Essex County Airport in Fairfield, New Jersey.

The Kennedy plane had been expected to arrive at Martha's Vineyard about 10 p.m., leaving Lauren Bessette behind while the Kennedys continued on to Hyannisport for a family wedding.

Hopes diminishing

A thick haze grounded search planes overnight, but the sea search continued on a limited basis.

Larrabee said searchers were still hopeful that the plane's passengers could be found alive, but those hopes were diminishing.

No new debris was found overnight. Taking into consideration tides and currents, officials do not expect any more debris to come ashore until Sunday afternoon.

All-terrain vehicles set out just after 5 a.m. EDT Sunday to comb the beaches of Aquinnah for more signs of the wreckage.

Bird told reporters that two state police search boats were being deployed to search an area from the Aquinnah coast area to a Noman's Land island about 3 1/2 miles off the southwest coast."

Bird said the island, now a National Wildlife Refuge, was once used as a military target. Any search of the island will be conducted only on its shores, he said, because of the threat of unexploded munitions.

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