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July 26, 1999
Web posted at: 6:00 a.m. EDT (1000 GMT)

In this story: NTSB calling in specialists 'The Navy's work here is done' RELATED STORIES, SITES

BOURNE, Massachusetts (CNN) -- Airline investigators are preparing to probe the wreckage from John F. Kennedy Jr.'s plane crash. On Monday, remnants of the plane were stored at a military base in Massachusetts.

The NTSB, which is leading the investigation, hopes to learn what caused the plane to crash into the sea off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. The National Transportation Safety Board has said the probe could take six to nine months.

Two trucks loaded with pieces of Kennedy's single-engine Piper Saratoga II HP, including the main fuselage section, engine and wings, arrived late Friday at the Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod, where NTSB officials will examine them.

However, authorities have acknowledged they may never find the reason for the crash that killed Kennedy, 38; his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, 33; and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette, 34.

NTSB calling in specialists

Ordinarily, only one regional investigator would be assigned to examine the cause of a small-plane crash, NTSB spokesman Paul Schlamm told the Boston Herald.

In the Kennedy crash, a team of eight or nine people will investigate, Schlamm said, including specialists such as metallurgists, meteorologists and structures experts.

The safety board will examine all the available parts to figure out how the plane broke up -- and the cause of the break-up.

"Was it an impact break? Was there a crack? Was there something pre-existing?" Schlamm said.

'The Navy's work here is done'

Officials are also examining radar data from five states to create a more accurate picture of the plane's path before it crashed about 7 miles off the coast of Aquinnah, Massachusetts. They will analyze the plane's history and maintenance records as well as Kennedy's pilot experience for more clues to the flight's final records.

The wreckage of JFK Jr.'s plane was transported by truck from Rhode Island to Cape Cod

The salvage ship USS Grasp arrived at the Newport Naval Station in Rhode Island late Friday afternoon carrying the wreckage, described as "twisted metal."

About two hours later a crane lifted the wreckage onto a large flatbed 18-wheeler. A smaller cargo truck also carried parts of the plane. A police escort went along with the vehicles to Cape Cod.

No more of the plane's debris is expected to be recovered, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Victor Beck said. About 90 percent of the wreckage has been removed from the ocean floor, he said.

"Everything's aboard that's coming aboard," Beck said. "The Navy's work here is done."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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