After two months ofintense cultural discourse, FX's"Love Story"concludes March 26 with the plane crash that took the lives of titular subjectsJohn F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette, as well as her older sister, Lauren Bessette.
On July 16, 1999, Kennedy sat in the pilot's seat of his single-engine plane, intending to drop off sister-in-law Lauren in Martha's Vineyard before continuing to Hyannis Port with his wife for cousin Rory Kennedy's wedding.
The night before, Kennedy watched the Atlanta Braves beat the hometown Yankees in the Bronx before checking into The Stanhope Hotel on the Upper East Side, a few blocks from the 5,300-square-foot apartment where he grew up with his mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and sister, Caroline.
John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette became tabloid fodder when the publisher son of President John F. Kennedy, described as the "closest thing to American royalty," and the Calvin Klein publicist, "a star in her own right," met in 1992 while at his fitting for the clothing brand. In recent years, Bessette's fashion has found a new following – particularly on TikTok – as a new generation fawns over her simple but chic wardrobe. After they were married, Bessette was known as Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. The end of the Kennedys' love story shocked the world when they died in a plane crash alongside Bessette-Kennedy's sister, Lauren Bessette. The former first son was piloting the aircraft when it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha's Vineyard in 1999. Now, director Ryan Murphy is releasing the first installment of his "Love Story" anthology based on the whirlwind romance between John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. See their relationship in photos, beginning here at the U.S. Customs House in New York City on May 19, 1999, for the Newman's Own/George Awards." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
John Kennedy Jr. with wife Carolyn Bessette arrive at Bright Night Whitney, a retrospective celebration of a century of American art at the Whitney Museum in New York City March 9, 1999. Kennedy was the publisher of George magazine. The pair married in 1996 on Cumberland Island, Georgia." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy leave the funeral of Michael Kennedy at Our Lady of Victory Parish in Centerville, Massachusetts, after services, Jan. 3, 1998." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette stop for photographers after Kennedy presented actor Robert De Niro with the Municipal Art Society of New York's Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal at a gala dinner in New York, March 4, 1997." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy leave at the end of the White House Correspondent's annual dinner in Washington, D.C., May 1, 1999." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy arrive at a gala to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Whitney Museum's Madison Avenue building in New York City." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy arrive at the White House for a state dinner in honor of British Prime Minister Tony Blair." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
The July 18, 1999, edition of the Cape Cod Times featured the news that John F. Kennedy Jr.'s plane went down off Martha's Vineyard on July 16, 1999." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., left, Max Kennedy and Victoria Kennedy gather with family on the beach at Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, to await word of John F. Kennedy Jr., whose plane went missing off Martha's Vineyard, July 17, 1999." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Victoria Reggie Kennedy consoles Sen. Ted Kennedy after the Coast Guard transports John F. Kennedy Jr., Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and Lauren Bessette's bodies after they were recovered from the plane." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Members of the Kennedy family head out to sea aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Sanibel which took them to the USS Briscoe for a burial at sea on July 22, 1999. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
A makeshift memorial for John Kennedy Jr., Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and her sister Lauren Bessette, at sunset on Moshup Beach, Martha's Vineyard." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
A photograph of John Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette sits among flowers and other items at a makeshift shrine outside the couple's apartment building in New York. Kennedy, his wife and her sister, Lauren Bessette, died when the plane he was flying crashed off Martha's Vineyard on July 16, 1999." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Hundreds of flowers and letters to John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette were placed on the hedges and the ground at the John F. Kennedy Memorial in Hyannis, Massachusetts." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> See John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette's whirlwind romance
John F. Kennedy Jr.andCarolyn Bessettebecame tabloid fodderwhen the publisher son of President John F. Kennedy, described as the "closest thing to American royalty," and the Calvin Klein publicist, "a star in her own right," met in 1992 while at his fitting for the clothing brand. In recent years, Bessette's fashion has found a new following – particularly on TikTok – as a new generation fawns over her simple but chic wardrobe. After they were married, Bessette was known as Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. The end of the Kennedys' love story shocked the world when they died in a plane crash alongside Bessette-Kennedy's sister, Lauren Bessette. The former first son was piloting the aircraft when it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha's Vineyard in 1999. Now, director Ryan Murphy is releasing thefirst installment of his "Love Story" anthologybased on the whirlwind romance betweenJohn F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. See their relationship in photos, beginning hereat the U.S. Customs House in New York City on May 19, 1999, for the Newman's Own/George Awards.
Kennedy eschewed the Tribeca loft he shared with Bessette for the hotel after "a heated fight" with Bessette,Elizabeth Beller writes in "Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy,"on which the FX series is based.
Kennedy wanted his wife to accompany him to the wedding, but Bessette "needed a break; she felt she'd done her share of Kennedy events for the time being," Beller writes. "Carolyn and John's fight turned into an enormous blowup, with John losing ever more patience, and Carolyn feeling ever more like an afterthought." (The penultimate episode of "Love Story,"which aired March 19, dramatized this argument inside their loft.)
Though Bessette eventually agreed to attend, she and John would never make it to the nuptials, which would be rescheduled for Aug. 2, 1999 in Greece in the aftermath of the tragedy.
John, 38, Carolyn, 33, and Lauren, 34, were killed when the plane plunged into the Atlantic Ocean. Here's a timeline of the trio's final hours and the rescue efforts that turned into a recovery mission (all times local).
Friday, July 16, 1999
10 a.m.:According to the book"JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography,"Kennedy went to the "George" magazine offices in Midtown and had a meeting with friend Peter Kiernan.
"On the afternoon of his death, we talked about his life and his frustrations and his aspirations and his family, in ways that we never had before," Kiernan said. "He talked about his sister, Caroline, about how important she was to him. … He said something like, 'It's the two of us left and she's a part of me, I'm a part of her.'"
About 4 p.m.:Kennedy's executive assistant, RoseMarie Terenzio, coauthor of "JFK Jr.," says that at about 4, John told he was "going to the gym for an hour." Terenzio reminded the "George" cofounder that he needed to meet his sister-in-law Lauren in the building's lobby at 6.
Terenzio says in the oral history that earlier in the day, Kennedy spoke with flight instructor Bob Merena and told the teacher he didn't need to accompany him on the flight. "It wasn't unusual for him to say he was going to fly alone," Terenzio says. "He had made that flight before alone."
William Cohan, John's classmate at Andover boarding school and author of "Four Friends," says in "JFK Jr." that he had heard an instructor offered to join Kennedy for the flight on his new plane, which he had bought in April 1999.
"The plane was several magnitudes more powerful than he really was comfortable in," Cohan says. "So the instructor offered to go with him, but John said: 'No, you don't have to. It's gonna be late.' The flight instructor had a wife and family. 'Go home to your wife and kids.' I mean, this is the way John was. 'I can handle this. I'm gonna be a good guy. We'll be fine.' So that's what I was told happened."
5 p.m.:According to Beller's "Once Upon a Time," an eyewitness saw Bessette leaving a nail salon by 5 p.m. (The premiere episode of "Love Story"depicted this appointment and her exit from the salon.)
"She went to Saks to buy a dress for the wedding the same day she was leaving, because she hadn't planned on going," Beller writes. "The salesgirl remembers Carolyn saying, 'He just had the cast taken off his leg. I don't know if he's ready yet to fly again.' After the purchase, the salesgirl wished Carolyn good luck. 'Thanks,' Carolyn replied. 'I'm going to need it.'"
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6:30 p.m.:Beller writes that Bessette, in her own car, and Kennedy with Lauren, were headed for the Essex County Airport in Fairfield, New Jersey, about 25 miles outside the city.
"They all thought that they would've arrived by 7:15 and taken off at 7:30, plenty of time to land before it got dark at 8:40," Beller states. "They were stuck in traffic and didn't make it to the airport until after 8:00 p.m."
7:53 p.m.:According to Beller's book, Kyle Bailey, a fellow pilot at the airport, "said that John then called a pilot information number for a weather briefing, which at 7:53 p.m. reported eight miles of visibility and clear skies. John's license allowed him to fly at night as long as there were at least five miles of visibility."
8:38 p.m.:Kennedy's six-seat Piper Saratoga departs, according to Beller: "Sunset on July 16, 1999, was 8:26 p.m. Dusk was at 8:58. Carolyn, John, and Lauren had twenty minutes of crepuscular blue and then darkness."
About 9:41 p.m.:The National Transportation Safety Board reportstates that "about 2141" the aircraft "was destroyed when it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean approximately 7½ miles southwest of Gay Head, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts."
FX's "Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette" (Thursdays, 9 ET/PT on FX and streaming on Hulu) depicts the romance of the pair, who tragically died in a plane crash in 1999. Let's take a closer look at the actors and the real-life people they're portraying." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Paul Anthony Kelly as John F. Kennedy Jr.Model turned actor Paul Anthony Kelly told USA TODAY that some days it took three hours to get into character. "It would be an extra two hours for coverup (of his tattoos) and then an hour for hair and makeup," Kelly said. That perfectly coiffed Kennedy hairdo was achieved with "a little bit of water and a hairdryer and a lot of brush work."" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn Bessette Sarah Pidgeon, a natural brunette, estimates she spent 22 hours in the hair salon over two days to lighten her locks within the realm of Bessette-blond. The stories written about the couple and Bessette in particular were "so misogynistic," Pidgeon tells USA TODAY. "There was this narrative that they wanted to stick to, generally, and this characterization of her that I've just found couldn't be further from the woman that I came to know."" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Naomi Watts as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Naomi Watts told "Entertainment Tonight" the production "did a bunch of tests" to find the right look, "because I really look nothing like her," the actress admitted. "The coloring is all wrong, and she has a different nose, and we certainly played around with prosthetics. And then we weren't improving. We were just making me look more different. So we sort of scrapped it." Watts donned a wig for the role, brown contact lenses and makeup to close the age gap." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Dree Hemingway as Daryl Hannah Dree Hemingway, the great-granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, portrays "Splash" star Daryl Hannah in the limited series. In real life, JFK Jr. and Hannah had an on and off relationship for years, but broke up for good in 1994, according to reports." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Grace Gummer as Caroline KennedyGrace Gummer, daughter of Meryl Streep and sculptor Don Gummer, plays Caroline Kennedy, John Jr.'s older sister, born three years before his arrival. After Caroline's father's assassination in 1963, her mother's death following a cancer diagnosis in 1994, and John Jr.'s death in 1999, Caroline is the only surviving member of their immediate family." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Ben Shenkman as Edwin Schlossberg Ben Shenkman ("Royal Pains," "Billions") plays Caroline Kennedy's husband Edwin Schlossberg. The couple wed in 1986 and had three children, Rose (1988), Tatiana (1990), and Jack (1993). Tatiana died of acute myeloid leukemia in December 2025." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Alessandro Nivola as Calvin Klein Alessandro Nivola portrays American fashion designer Calvin Klein, whose eponymous label was where Carolyn Bessette worked and where she met John F. Kennedy Jr." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Noah Fearnley as Michael Bergin Michael Bergin, a Calvin Klein model who acted on "Baywatch," engaged in "a casual romance" with Carolyn Bessette in 1992, Elizabeth Beller writes in "Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy," upon which FX's limited series is based. "A former hotel doorman at the Paramount, Bergin would later, in a tell-all book, 'The Other Man,' claim he was sexually involved with Carolyn from the fall of '92 until her death.
"There's no doubt Carolyn befriended Bergin, and, true to form, helped him with his career," Beller continues. "Carolyn and Michael had an on-off relationship, much more off than on. His later account of it is considered questionable by many of Carolyn's friends."" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
'Love Story' cast photos compared to real-life people including JFK Jr., Carolyn Bessette
FX's "Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette" (Thursdays, 9 ET/PT on FX and streaming on Hulu) depicts the romance of the pair, who tragically died in a plane crash in 1999. Let's take a closer look at the actors and the real-life people they're portraying.
Jeff Guzzetti, formerly an NTSB investigator, says in "JFK Jr." that if he were asked about the crash, he'd surmise that Kennedy "followed the Connecticut and Rhode Island coastline and then he turned out to sea to head towards Martha's Vineyard. And since it was dark and it was over the ocean, he probably had no horizon."
The haze would have required JFK Jr. to rely on the plane's instruments instead of his own visibility, Guzzetti says. "However, he was not trained for instrument flying."
"The last thirty miles, he starts to wander as he begins his descent to Martha's Vineyard," Guzzetti speculates. "His flight path into the water is indicative of something called spatial disorientation. His inner ears were playing tricks with his sense of orientation… His flight path into the water is consistent with what is known as a graveyard spiral. The airplane makes a spiral nose-down, down, down to the grave, kind of like going down a drain. The plane went into one final turn and it stayed in that turn pretty much all the way down to the ocean. It plunged into the Atlantic Ocean in a steep nose-down inverted attitude."
Midnight:Carole Radziwill, who was married to Kennedy's cousin Anthony Radziwill until his death in August 1999, writes inher memoir, "What Remains,"that Kennedy's friend Dan Samson phoned her at 12 a.m. Samson, who was supposed to retrieve the couple from the Hyannis Port airport at 10 p.m., informs Radziwill they hadn't arrived. The future star of "The Real Housewives of New York City" makes a series of calls, putting on her journalist's hat to try to locate Kennedy and Bessette.
Search and rescue efforts kick off the next morning, Beller writes, "with fifteen Civil Air Patrol planes, two Coast Guard HH-60 Jayhawk choppers, an Air National Guard helicopter, and a Hercules cargo plane above the waters south of Martha's Vineyard. An armada of boats, including Coast Guard cutters and search-and-rescue patrol boats, were on the water."
Tuesday, July 20, 1999
About 10:40 p.m.:After days of searching,the NTSB reportstates that "the airplane's wreckage was located (by U.S. Navy divers) in 120 feet of water, about 1/4 mile north of the target's last recorded radar position."
Wednesday, July 21, 1999
About 2:30 a.m.:The New York Timesreports later that "Mr. Kennedy's remains were located about 2:30 A.M. by an underwater camera checking objects detected by sonar. Several hours later, Navy divers" discovered the Bessette sisters.
Richard M. Larrabee, rear admiral in the Coast Guard, said the three were found "'near and under' the fuselage," the outlet reported, still wearing their seat belts.
4:30 p.m.:The Los Angeles Timesreports that "Navy divers brought the bodies to the surface at 4:30 p.m. EDT."
According to the NTSB report, autopsies on the three that evening "indicated that the pilot and passengers died from multiple injuries as a result of an airplane accident … The toxicological tests were negative for alcohol and drugs of abuse."Beller writes that to keep their final resting places from becoming a tourist attraction, the ashes of the three are scattered at sea the next day.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:What happened to JFK Jr., Carolyn Bessette? A timeline of the crash
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