Investigators have not yet determined what caused the downing late Friday of the Piper Saratoga carrying Kennedy, his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and her sister Lauren Bessette in the waters off Martha's Vineyard. Observers have entertained a number of theories. Yet even those who believe mechanical failure was more likely than weather to have caused the crash say haze can pose serious problems when flying, particularly at night. Clyde Gordon, the owner of the Richmond Airport, said that he was flying along the Connecticut coastline once when haze arrived. Haze often develops after sweltering summer days, when temperatures drop in the evening and humidity in the air coalesces.
Pilots say it appears over the waters along most of the Eastern seaboard.
And it's sudden. Roan said clouds of haze seem to arise in less than a minute, making a once-clear sky as opaque as pea soup. He said it's like being surrounded by a glass of milk. On Friday evening, murkiness obscured the island. According to some pilots, the onset of haze can cause a pilot to lose sight of the horizon.