He had executed the flight without incident so far, making gentle right-hand turns that had not taxed his injured left ankle. That will surely be remembered as the fatal fact of Kennedy's last flight. There are two rudder pedals in private planes such as Kennedy's Piper Saratoga II HP - one for each foot. Earlier, just as darkness fell over northern New Jersey and the smudgy New York skyline, Kennedy had advanced the throttle on his throaty, powerful 300-horsepower engine, taken off and climbed northeast around the field. After informing the tower at Essex County Airport that he was leaving the traffic pattern, Kennedy had again turned right, to head up over Westchester County, N.Y., and fly up the Connecticut coastline.
Pilots compensate by applying steady right rudder.
This is instinctual, even for a pilot like Kennedy with relatively little flight time. Had he only turned left, just once, and felt the sharp stab of pain in his ankle as he applied rudder pressure, Kennedy might have reconsidered. The cast on Kennedy's ankle had been removed only the day before. He had broken his ankle a month earlier while paragliding in Martha's Vineyard, and he had flown his plane with an instructor since then. This was his first flight without his instructor in more than a month.