On July 16, 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr. died when the light aircraft he was piloting, a Piper Saratoga, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. His wife, Carolyn Bessette, and sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette, were also killed. The flight had departed from Essex County Airport (CDW) in Fairfield Township, Essex County, New Jersey.