Writer File photo of a Piper Saratoga aircraft, similar to that of Kennedy's. Visual flight rules must be used by a pilot without an instrument rating, which Kennedy apparently did not have. Under so-called VFR rules, a pilot must be able to see at least three miles into the distance and stay well below clouds.
Pilots say anything less than six miles visibility is marginal.
Mass. The plane was then supposed to travel on to Hyannisport, Mass., where Rory Kennedy, the youngest child of the late Sen. Robert. F. Kennedy, was to be married Saturday. The trip from New Jersey to Martha's Vineyard is about 200 miles, or only about one-quarter of the aircraft's range. Powered by a single turbocharged Lycoming engine, the Saratoga could carry up to six and had a top speed of around 175 knots, or about 201 mph. With a full load of fuel, it could fly about 859 nautical miles, or just short of 990 miles.