President Clinton last night led Americans and other world leaders in expressing sympathy and hope to the Kennedy family as they waited for news of the fate of John Kennedy jnr, his wife, Carolyn, and her sister, Ms Lauren Bessette.
"As the search continues, I want to express our family's support and offer our prayers and those of all Americans for John Kennedy jnr, his wife, Carolyn, her sister, Lauren, and to their fine families," the President said. Mr Clinton was informed early on Saturday of the disappearance of the plane and was being "kept fully informed of the ongoing search efforts", the White House spokesman, Mr Joe Lockhart, said.
At a campaign event in Los Angeles, the Vice-President, Mr Al Gore, asked his audience to observe a moment of prayer for the Kennedys and Ms Bessette. The House of Representatives Speaker, Mr Dennis Hastert, asked all Americans to pray that the three were found safe. "My thoughts are with the Kennedy family and the Bessette family as we all wait to learn what happened to that flight," he said in a statement.
In an interview on CNN's Larry King Live, Sen Orrin Hatch, a close friend of Sen Edward Kennedy, praised the Kennedys as "a family of great faith".
As Americans waited for news of the missing three, some admirers had already placed flowers in front of their loft in TriBeCa, an industrial-chic neighbourhood of New York, yesterday. North Moore Street was filled with television trucks as all major US networks ran continuous coverage of the search for the missing aircraft.
Most scheduled weekend television programming was altered to allow for non-stop talk and pictures on the missing three.
Outside Washington, at Arlington National Cemetery where Mr Kennedy jnr's mother, Jacqueline, and father were buried, a note attached to flowers yesterday read: "Praying for John jnr".
His disappearance triggered an outpouring of support for the family while drawing attention to its tragic history. "It's a balance between a charmed life and a great deal of tragedy," said Mr Mark Rubin, from Tyler, Texas, who was visiting Arlington cemetery.
In Dallas, wreaths were placed at the former Texas School Book Depository from where Lee Harvey Oswald shot President John Kennedy in 1963.
Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, said at the Kennedy Space Centre during Apollo 11 commemorations: "Our hearts go out to that family that has started so much, achieved so much, suffered and sacrificed so much and now has even further uncertainty."
The Rev Billy Graham, the US evangelist, described Mr Kennedy jnr as a friend and said he was "praying the passengers would be found alive and well".
The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ehud Barak, offered his condolences to the families. "We always feel empathy when we see tragedies occur and you have for some reason lived through so many tragedies, like the Kennedy family," Mr Barak said in an interview yesterday on CNN, referring to the many deaths the Kennedys have endured.
Pope John Paul prayed on Sunday for Mr Kennedy when he heard of the crash and recalled a string of tragedies which has plagued America's first political family.
Vatican spokesman Dr Joaquin Navarro-Valls told reporters the Pope, who is winding up a private mountain holiday in Italy, also recalled how John Jr had moved the world as a small boy when his father was assassinated in 1963.
"As he does whenever we inform him that someone has died, he interrupted us and said in Latin, 'May the Lord grant him eternal rest'," the spokesman said just before the Pontiff made a public appearance to read his Sunday address.
The Libyan leader, Col Muammar Gadaffi, appeared to mock the US yesterday for having trouble finding John Kennedy Jnr. "Americans, who brag about being able to find a needle in a haystack anywhere in the world, who have gigantic means, satellites for communications and espionage infesting space, cannot say what has happened to John F Kennedy Jr, his wife and his plane," he said.
"Either the United States is incompetent, or it is not seriously looking for the Kennedy family," he said, expressing sympathy for the disappearance of the Kennedy couple.