Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images. What caused Lynyrd Skynyrd's plane to crash? Although the plane landed safely, following the concert, several members of the band and crew told lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant that they would not continue the tour unless the plane was replaced. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. When the names of the dead were released, many people openly mourned. The music industry and fans of southern rock were devastated. They loved guitars like their musical brethren (and idols) the Allman Brothers Band, boasting three powerhouse players. The survivors . En route, several band members were alarmed when they saw 10-foot streams of sparks and flames shooting out of the right engine of the prop plane. He said one of the things they discussed was switching their plane to a Learjet for upcoming flights. One of their last hits was That Smell, whose title refers to, as the lyrics say, the smell of death [that] surrounds you. Its an ominous song and starts with the true story of guitarist Gary Rossington drunkenly smashing his brand new Fort Torino into a tree (oak tree youre in my way). Only muted screams and cries of agony could help locate the survivors. In 1977, some reporters even went looking for the crash site in the woods near Gillsburg, Mississippi, and they were successful in finding it. The first indication they were about to hit land was the sound of the pine trees hitting the bottom and sides of the plane. However, now on the ground and in the trees, it was quite dark. ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? The whistling wind was all they heard, making it no secret to the passengers what happened to the engines. The investigation revealed that they flew with their fuel in the auto-rich setting, which may have caused the plane to burn fuel faster. The plane kept on flying, and to everyones relief, it made it to Greenville. Folks were all mashed together. It was later revealed that Aerosmith turned it down after seeing the pilots drinking Jack Daniels during an inspection. On October 18, 1977, Lynryd Skynyrd performed in Lakeland, Florida, and then flew to Greenville, South Carolina, for their show on October 19, 1977. Also, previous conversations show that he was indeed trying to tempt fate, and perhaps the plane crash is how he envisioned going out all along. In a chilling statement that tempted fate, Van Zant is reported to have said, Hey, if the Lord wants you to die on this plane when its your time, its your time. He suffered a "massive hole in the head from flying through the fuselage, a broken neck, broken ribs and 45 years of pain," he said. The horror was far from over. Despite these signs, the plane was chosen for their tour. No one wanted to get on the plane that night. Wed move one and there would be another one laying there. Volunteer Fireman Jamie Wall reached the scene and began removing people out of the wreckage with a hatchet. Years later, Cleopatra Films wanted to produce a film about the Lynyrd Skynyrd band, focusing particularly on the devastating plane crash. He said he could hear bassist Leon Wilkeson screaming, Get me out of here!, Pyle thought he spotted a farm from the air, and with both Frank and Peden, he took off in that direction to look for help. In the darkness of the thickly forested swamp, Pyle said a snake slithered right up to him. Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1976 (L-R Leon Wilkeson, Billy Powell, Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins). The two pilots hung from a tree. (function() { King acknowledges that he never really fit in with the rest of the group, who knew each other from their roots in lower middle class, Jacksonville, Florida. It seemed that life has not been kind to this talented group. Van Zant even took a nap in the aisle. It felt like being hit with baseball bats in a steel garbage can with the lid on. To attempt this, Marc Frank said the pilots made a frightening 180-degree turn with both wings perpendicular to the ground. They wanted the rest of the band and crew to be rescued as soon as possible. Drummer Pyle recalled a story some years later and said, Ronnie and I were in Tokyo, Japan, and Ronnie told me that hed never live to see 30 and that he was going to go out with his boots on in other words, on the road.. The publication included the tune on its 2021 list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The band is from the Deep South (Van Zant hailed from Jacksonville, Florida) and short hops were the norm for them. Pyle remembers realizing that his shoe was off, and his sock was dangling from his toes. Photo of Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Steve Gaines and founder and lead singer Ronnie Van Zant. - Earlier this month, 42 years after Lynyrd Skynyrd's chartered Convair CV-300 crashed near Gillsburg, Mississippi, while heading to Baton Rouge for a concert. . The band's autobiography tells the story of their management examining the aircraft and being underwhelmed. $14.88 shipping. He also survived a murder attempt in the 90s when an unknown perpetrator slit his throat. On October 20, 1977, a plane crash killed three members of the group, including its guiding light, Ronnie Van Zant. Van Zant uncharacteristically allowed Ed King to be included in the song credits for "Sweet Home Alabama." Many of the injuries required extended hospitalization and grueling rehabilitation. While the pilots struggled to comprehend why they had already run out of fuel, they decided to inform passengers of what was happening. Wilkesons life was never easy following the crash. He convinced Mote that a crash had actually occurred and Mote ultimately let the fireman and his brother Jeffrey onto his property. >> Lynyrd Skynyrd put the "Y"s in their name in reference to The Byrds. The aircraft itself was chock-full of people -- it was configured for 24 passengers, and that's what it was carrying. (The original airliner's cabin was designed to carry up to 40 passengers, but this charter aircraft was equipped with tables and couches that cut into that number pretty significantly.) Join us as we visit the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash site in Galesburg, Mississippi.#lynyrdskynyrd #freebird #grimmlifecollective Want a personalized VIDEO MES. Three individuals were actually ambulatory, including Frank, drummer Artimus Pyle, and another road crew member, Steve Lawler. Ronnie was the only one of my children who had second sight, his father used to brag. It was a substantially reduced price, and the savings were hard to justify when Rudge skipped the flight by opting for a first-class ticket on a commercial airliner. This Oct. 20, 1977, file photo shows the wreckage of a plane in a wooded area near McComb, Mississippi, where six people were killed, including three members of the music group Lynyrd Skynyrd. Van Zant was certainly a worker and was devoted to his fans, especially in the South. They ere living fast and hard. Three members of the best southern rock band in history perished in a plane crash. As for Van Zant, all the premonitions and talk about his death finally produced the result he anticipated. About Us; Staff; Camps; Scuba. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. With Van Zants death, Lynyrd Skynyrd was effectively over for the moment. Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash was filmed and edited by Cleopatra Films, but the company has yet to set a release date due to various legal issues delaying the process. All rights reserved. Many hope to finally see this film come to fruition someday. Theres no doubt that the Lynyrd Skynyrd legacy lives on to this day and is still going strong. Members of the country rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd ("Sweet Home Alabama," "Free Bird") were aboard a chartered flight of a twin-engine Convair CV-240 on October 20, 1977. "Sweet Home Alabama," one of the band's signature songs, an ode to "the Southland," boasts nearly 1 billion plays on Spotify, nearly 50 years after it was recorded in 1974. The members of Lynyrd Skynyrd were strangely united by one thing. The five band members who survived the crash were in no condition to think about music for a very long time. The group re-formed a decade later, with Van Zant's brother, Johnny, taking over lead vocals. Artimus Pyle had actually had the presence of mind to try to visually locate anything that looked remotely like civilisation as the plane descended. REBA MCENTIRE REMEMBERS 1991 PLANE CRASH THAT KILLED 8 BAND MEMBERS: IT SHOWED ME HOW PRECIOUS LIFE IS. The first individual to reach the crash site was Jamie Wall of the Gillsburg Volunteer Fire Department. At the insistence of Gainess wife, the album cover was changed because it morbidly depicted Gaines and other band members engulfed in flames. Of the 24 passengers who boarded the ill-fated flight from Greenville, South Carolina, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, three members of the band were killed. He later paralyzed himself in a subsequent car accident, which killed his girlfriend, and died of paralytic pneumonia in 1990. He also appealed to the band's pride by saying that they were scheduled to appear on the campus of LSU, headlining in front of a crowd of at least 10,000 fans. Band members Artimus Pyle and Billy Powell entered the cockpit when one of the pilots, his eyes distorted with fear, told them to get back to their seats and have everyone strap in. >> In what mustve felt like an eternity, the plane finally descended into the trees. $500.00. Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash survivor Marc Frank carves into an oak tree that has served as a memorial to the plane crash that occurred on Oct. 20, 1977. ' Unfortunately, it was all too real. Years later, King was stunned when he visited Gaines's grave, only to find out that they shared the same birthday: September 14, 1949. Wall saw one of the pilots, hanging from the interior of the cockpit, clearly dead. A 30th anniversary re-release of the album restored the original cover. After this mausoleum desecration, Van Zant's remains were removed to another location, protected by tons of concrete and continuous security. Just about everyone seemed a little scared, but eventually, they calmed down as they settled into the flight. Marc Frank, a 24-year-old roadie with the band, later recalled that there was a great deal of apprehension at the beginning of the flight. Aerosmiths managers toured the plane and were extremely unimpressed with the planes condition as well as the staff that manned it. Luckily for the band, things began to take a turn for the positive. It was one of the last songs Van Zant wrote, and months before his death he was said to have commented, I had a creepy feeling things were going against us, so I thought Id write a morbid song. But even Van Zant probably didnt bargain for what was going to come. Photo of Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Steve Gaines and founder and lead singer Ronnie Van Zant. Shortly thereafter, he saw three men emerge from the woods. How Much Does it Cost to Book a Private Plane? As much as he loves performing, he loves being alive more. _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); Several band members said Van Zant was very calm, and even a little annoyed that he had been woken up. Years later he claimed he was sitting on a cloud-shaped log with Van Zant and another musician who had died six years earlier. There were no roads, waterways, or open fields, so the plane carved its own path through the forest at 90 mph.