If any subject was ideally positioned for Final 24, it would be John F. Kennedy Jr., whose last hours were like a slow horror-film, the tension mounting steadily towards the climax, and all the signs of doom plainly visible. Yet the producers seem to have thrown away their advantage, interspersing the action with a lot of back-history, reducing much of the film to an ordinary documentary profile, destroying the drumbeat effect that could have made it a masterpiece.
Ironically, the flight was not meant to have happened at all. John and Carolyn had had one of their marital rows, and John had indulged the luxury of moving into a nearby hotel. It was there that Carolyn's sister Lauren persuaded him to consider re-planning the trip. A few drinks later, he unwisely agreed to fly them to Martha's Vineyard early the next evening.
Already two red flags have popped up. A last-minute travel-plan made over drinks in a luxurious hotel bar, where awkward drawbacks are liable to be overlooked. Against a background of marital stress that could affect a pilot's performance.
John's career was also winching-up the stress-levels. His magazine, George, had attracted a lot of attention, but investors were not showing the necessary commitment, and both they and John were probably sensing that the digital revolution would soon reduce printed magazines to a sideshow in the media. A board meeting on the morning of the flight would have done little to steady his nerves.
Then there was the Friday dimension. Both the women wanted to do a bit of shopping, and the rush-hour traffic held up all three of them. It would be well into the evening, with the light fading, before they took off. And although John was technically licensed to fly in the dark, using Visual Flight Rules, he was almost totally inexperienced in night-flight, and should have aborted the mission. (A fellow-pilot, about to fly the same route, had decided to cancel.)
Finally, there were two inexplicable decisions by John that sealed his fate. A friend of his had offered to ride as co-pilot, which would have been an eminently sensible arrangement. Probably just feeling distracted, John refused the offer (though he did not declare "I must do this alone", as claimed by the conspiracy theorists). And then, at the last stage of the trip, he decided to save five minutes by flying over water with no lights visible, instead of following the well-marked coast. It was this that did for them all - spatial disorientation in the absence of a horizon.
Ironically, the flight was not meant to have happened at all. John and Carolyn had had one of their marital rows, and John had indulged the luxury of moving into a nearby hotel. It was there that Carolyn's sister Lauren persuaded him to consider re-planning the trip. A few drinks later, he unwisely agreed to fly them to Martha's Vineyard early the next evening.
Already two red flags have popped up. A last-minute travel-plan made over drinks in a luxurious hotel bar, where awkward drawbacks are liable to be overlooked. Against a background of marital stress that could affect a pilot's performance.
John's career was also winching-up the stress-levels. His magazine, George, had attracted a lot of attention, but investors were not showing the necessary commitment, and both they and John were probably sensing that the digital revolution would soon reduce printed magazines to a sideshow in the media. A board meeting on the morning of the flight would have done little to steady his nerves.
Then there was the Friday dimension. Both the women wanted to do a bit of shopping, and the rush-hour traffic held up all three of them. It would be well into the evening, with the light fading, before they took off. And although John was technically licensed to fly in the dark, using Visual Flight Rules, he was almost totally inexperienced in night-flight, and should have aborted the mission. (A fellow-pilot, about to fly the same route, had decided to cancel.)
Finally, there were two inexplicable decisions by John that sealed his fate. A friend of his had offered to ride as co-pilot, which would have been an eminently sensible arrangement. Probably just feeling distracted, John refused the offer (though he did not declare "I must do this alone", as claimed by the conspiracy theorists). And then, at the last stage of the trip, he decided to save five minutes by flying over water with no lights visible, instead of following the well-marked coast. It was this that did for them all - spatial disorientation in the absence of a horizon.
