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Morning News

Biographer Christopher Andersen Discusses "The Day John Died"

Aired July 11, 2000 - 9:38 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: It has been almost a year since the plane piloted by John F. Kennedy Jr. crashed into the ocean off of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. The crash killed Kennedy, his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and her sister Lauren. And according to a new book about JFK Jr., his mother, Jackie Kennedy, had a premonition that he might be killed in a plane crash.

The book is entitled "The Day John Died," the author Christopher Andersen. He joins us this morning from our New York bureau.

Thanks for joining us. Good morning.

CHRISTOPHER ANDERSEN, AUTHOR, "THE DAY JOHN DIED": Good morning.

KAGAN: Nice to have you back again on MORNING NEWS.

ANDERSEN: My pleasure.

KAGAN: Tell us more about this premonition that you believe Jackie Onassis had.

ANDERSEN: Well, you know, the ultimate irony here is that Jackie Kennedy encouraged her son to take risks. She, after the assassination of JFK, she didn't want her son growing up to be a weakling, a vegetable, as she put it, because he didn't have a father figure. So she really wanted him to go out there and test himself in all these -- you know, go kayaking and disappear into the wilderness, and that sort of thing.

The one thing she didn't want him to do was fly. And there was real reason for that. First of all, the family history is quite upsetting when you look at it in terms of flying. He lost his uncle Joe, his aunt Kathleen, his step-brother Alexander Onassis, several other relatives in small plane crashes. And she -- on top of that, Jackie had this premonition that she shared with Maurice Templesman, her companion of 15 years, that John would die in a crash of a small plane. So she made John promise he would not fly during her lifetime.

KAGAN: I know that you're very familiar with the Kennedy family history. You've written two other books on the Kennedys. But did you have any Kennedy family input in putting together this particular book?

ANDERSEN: Yes, as a matter of fact, I did, because I think there was a desire for -- and, again, it's very sensitive, but there is a desire to set the record straight. There have been a lot of tabloid stories, rumors, rather sleazy gossip about what was going on, for example, in the marriage at the time of John's death. I found no truth to these rampant rumors that the marriage was over between John and Carolyn Bessette. As a matter of fact, they were about to embark on having a family. John had even picked out a name for a child, and that name was Flynn (ph), because if he had a boy he didn't want to saddle him with being JFK III.

KAGAN: You mention these rumors. There were a lot of rumors that swirled around right after the crash. And basically, from what I've been able to read from your book, you've tried to debunk almost all of them. I mean, is this a puff piece, or you really weren't able to get dirt on John F. Kennedy Jr.?

ANDERSEN: I've got to tell you, you know, I write pretty hard- hitting biographies.

KAGAN: That's your business.

ANDERSEN: That's my thing. And I look. And, you know, frankly, this guy really was an exceptional human being in many ways. I think there are many misconceptions about him. The quote on the back of the book from him I think says a lot about the guy. He said, "People keep telling me I could be a great man. I'd rather be a good one."

He was slightly embarrassed about the fact that people expected him to seek high office merely because of his name, and he really wanted to earn that kind of respect. And I think he felt he had the time to do it. He was about to, by the way, I'm convinced, run for political office.

KAGAN: Really?

ANDERSEN: Yes, in 1997 he had approached the New York State Democratic Party, the chairwoman, and said that he wanted to run for Daniel Patrick Moynihan's seat, the one that Hillary is now seeking. And he didn't do it because Carolyn Bessette just really couldn't take the strain of a campaign at that point. But now everything seemed much better in their marriage and more solid, so he was about to do it.

KAGAN: Quickly, in the little bit of time that we have left, were you able to find out anything more about what happened on the day that the plane crashed?

ANDERSEN: I think the FAA really has to step up to the plate and take some of the blame for this because I don't think John -- I think he was a careful pilot. He took a lot of other chances, but he did not take chances when it came to flying, and he was misled by these false weather reports that said that visibility was great up on Martha's Vineyard that night.

KAGAN: Despite the report we just saw from the NTSB earlier this week, or last week, talking about pilot error?

ANDERSEN: Well, you know, they didn't use the word "pilot error," and I think that's very telling.

KAGAN: They went -- they were going in that direction. I mean, not exactly those words, but you're right, yes.

ANDERSEN: Exactly. And I'm not saying he didn't make some fatal mistakes. But the fact of the matter is, he had canceled previous trips three times that summer to Martha's Vineyard because of the weather, and I think he would have done it this time. I don't think he would have ever made that trip if it hadn't been for this false weather information provided by the FAA.

KAGAN: He had different information. Christopher Anderson, thank you very much for sharing your book with us.

ANDERSEN: Thank you.

KAGAN: Again, once again, the book is called "The Day John Died." Thank you very much.

ANDERSEN: Thank you.

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