John F. Kennedy Jr. remembered, 13 years after his death

John F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, as they leave at the end of the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington on May 1, 1999.

/ Getty

(CBS News) On July 16, 1999 - 13 years ago today - John F. Kennedy Jr. died when the small plane he was piloting to a family wedding crashed into the ocean off the Massachusetts coast.

The son of former President John F. Kennedy was just 38 years old. His wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, also died in the crash.

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Born in 1960, just days after his father's election, JFK Jr. spent his earliest years in the White House. When his father was assassinated in 1963, he moved to New York City with his mother, Jacqueline Kennedy, and sister, Caroline.

As an adult, he earned a law degree from New York University went on to and co-found the political/lifestyle magazine George. He was also named People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1988.

He married Carolyn Bessette on Sept. 21, 1996, on Georgia's Cumberland Island. Before that, he had been one of the country's most eligible bachelors.

JFK Jr.'s death made headlines, as Americans mourned the loss of another Kennedy. During a public memorial service held on July 23, 1999, his uncle, Ted Kennedy - who lost his battle with brain cancer in 2009 - said: "We dared to think, in that other Irish phrase, that this John Kennedy would live to comb gray hair, with his beloved Carolyn by his side. But like his father, he had every gift but length of years."

In the past 13 years, the country has also said goodbye to other members of the Kennedy family, including Rosemary Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, Sargent Shriver and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Kara Kennedy Allen and Mary Richardson Kennedy.

[Aviator501]

Plane Fax has the full aircraft accident report online here http://www.planefax.com/pfrlibrary.html Fascinating read at this slice of history.

[joiedevivre4]

Thank you for remembering John. Though his wife did not have a job they would still be alive today if they had not flown at night.

[Aviator501]

I found the full accident report online at Plane Fax, fascinating read. http://www.planefax.com/pfrlibrary.html

[tri63]

Wow. Still on the it-was-Carolyn's-fault kick. She. Wasn't. Working. Not needing extra money. Unemployed. Keep posting your laughable mistruths when we could be remembering better things about a golden couple gone too soon.

[gryphon501]

ok, it may be true that his poor flying killed his wife, but overall he didn't seem to be as bad to women as the other Kennedy men. So I think he has to be given credit for being fairly normal and decent (considering he was a Kennedy).

[nohater]

had to read this story. had forgotten all about him, his death, etc.

[baileycccc]

he would have been President if had not died so tragically.

[OweninNJ]

From NY to BOS is 3.5-4hrs by car. 220 or so miles. Shoulda left the plane in the hanger.

[matt6052]

JFK, Jr. died because he didn't know how to operate the fuel tank switch on his small plane. It's a three-position switch, and instead of switching from tank one to tank two, he mistakenly shut off all the fuel. Without natural light, he couldn't read the correct position for the switch and restart the engine. It was due to flying in darkness but it wasn't due to haze and disorientation. When you read the NTSB details, you'll see that the crash occured a few moments after he would have switched fuel tanks to keep the plane balanced and flying level and that the fuel switch was found in the "off" position.

[joeovercoat]

Was it not poor judgment and pilot error that led to the crash in the story? Is there no lesson to be learned there such that it is glossed over because he was a celebrity?

[retiredgustav]

Most plane accidents are pilot error. Usually they stem from poor training.

[jwolfe2010]

One can't help but wonder where his life's course would have led him... which path he would have chosen, and if that path would have changed the course of America. His loss was our loss, in every way. My heart goes out to the Kennedy family, and the Bessette family whose loss was twofold - in this sad, sad tragedy.