WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Federal investigators have concluded the July 16 plane crash that killed John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, Carolyn, and her sister was caused by pilot error on his part, Fox News Channel reported.
Fox quoted sources close to the investigation as saying that no mechanical problems had been found with the single-engine plane Kennedy was flying, and investigators now believe the crash was caused by his inexperience as a pilot.The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash in which Kennedy's Piper Saratoga II plunged into the Atlantic Ocean off Martha's Vineyard, Mass., killing all three people aboard, but has not released any findings thus far.
NTSB spokeswoman Lauren Peduzzi had no comment on the Fox News report, saying only, "We have not made a probable cause determination."
She gave no timetable for when the board would adopt a final report on the cause of the crash.
A finding by the NTSB that Kennedy, the son of former President John F. Kennedy, was responsible for the crash could bolster plans by the family of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and her sister, Lauren Bessette, to file a wrongful death or negligence lawsuit against Kennedy's estate.
Fox News said it learned that Kennedy's sister, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, had offered the Bessette family $10 million to avert a lawsuit.
It quoted a source close to the Bessette family as saying that family members believed a settlement could be reached and had decided not to proceed with a lawsuit.