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. The aircraft involved in the accident was a 29 . It was 30 years old, and when the pilot guided the plane down the runway, a loud bang was heard from the starboard side. Lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, Steve's sister and back-up singer, Cassie Gaines, and road manager Dean Kilpatrick all perished in the crash, along with pilot and co-pilot. Many hope to finally see this film come to fruition someday. More than four decades after the fateful crash that ended Lynyrd Skynyrd's quickly rising music career, people still listen to their legendary hits. Legal Statement. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images. It was propelled by the weirdly prescient and dark "That Smell," a song that includes the lyric, "The smell of death surrounds you!". "It took from me a lifelong dear friend and fishing buddy.". One other band had already rejected the plane before Lynyrd Skynyrd. By now, helicopters were on the scene and helped illuminate the crash site. The whistling wind was all they heard, making it no secret to the passengers what happened to the engines. A crew member, Ken Peden, also escaped the wreck. The fuselage turned sideways, and everybody was hurled forward., Marc Frank can still remember the sound of metal popping and scraping as the fuselage ripped open and the wings were torn off by the trees. Earlier in 1977, there was another rock and roll band in the market for an airplane. >> Lynyrd Skynyrd put the "Y"s in their name in reference to The Byrds. Planes Are Absolutely Not Allowed to Fly Here, Who Will Live Forever: The Incredible Story of Freddie Mercury, Viola Davis Barrier-Breaking Hollywood Story Is One for the Record Books. In all, over 100 people found the crash-site and began helping the survivors. This explanation did little to console family, friends and fans of the deceased band members. Just about everyone seemed a little scared, but eventually, they calmed down as they settled into the flight. He had dislodged teeth, a broken arm, a broken leg and severe internal injuries. In October 1977, the band was enjoying increasing fame and the recent release of their fifth album, Street Survivors, while on tour in the U.S. - 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 album had just hit gold three days prior to the terrible plane crash. Wilkesons life was never easy following the crash. Eventually, Billy Powell, Allen Collins, Leon Wilkeson, Gary Rossington, Artimus Pyle, ex-member Ed King and Ronnie Van Zants little brother, Johnny (pictured), all got together for a Lynyrd Skynyrd reunion. Needless to say, the nation was shocked and saddened. This event wasnt immediately reported. They crawled out of a hole in the tail of the fuselage and went to look for help. Then suddenly, the engine stopped and the plane began to jolt violently in the air. On their flight to Greenville coming from Florida, the plane managed to get into the air, but barely. "The only reason so many survived is that there was no fuel left on the plane. LYNYRD SKYNYRD Rock Band 22" X 34" THE ROAD . Eerily, legendary rock group Aerosmith had representatives looking to buy the very Convair that carried Lynyrd Skynyrd to their demise. The members of Lynyrd Skynyrd were strangely united by one thing. He made the mark, beating his premonition by just 87 days. LYNYRD SKYNYRD The legacy began some 41 years ago in Jacksonville, Florida, and halted for a decade by the 1977 plane crash that killed three band members, including Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines. He later paralyzed himself in a subsequent car accident, which killed his girlfriend, and died of paralytic pneumonia in 1990. plane crash. Theres no doubt that the Lynyrd Skynyrd legacy lives on to this day and is still going strong. The plane passed manager Peter Rudges inspection, and three payments of $5,000 later, the plane was theirs. When they also observed the pilot and co-pilot exchanging a bottle of Jack Daniel's during the inspection, they were convinced that both the Convair and its crew were not up to their standards. Backup vocalist Cassie Gaines even made a reservation on a commercial flight to the next tour stop, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. On October 20, 1977, a plane crash killed three members of the group, including its guiding light, Ronnie Van Zant . There were 26 people in all, and the ride started much better than the previous flight. One of the reasons he forced the issue is because their biggest fan base was where they were going on that fateful night. All rights reserved. I-55 exit 8 at official Skynyrd Crash exit signs. But then, Frank noticed gasoline spraying out of the right engine. Fun stories about food, relationships, the great outdoors and more. Van Zant had previously admitted writing these lyrics to acknowledge the various car accidents and violent incidents around him. You might think panic would prevail in this type of situation, but the musicians reacted in the opposite manner. The band's ambitious tour for their latest album had just started and they decided to lease a twin prop plane to reach each destination.. Roadies, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the pilot and co-pilot boarded the plane that took off just after 5 p.m. . As the plane lost altitude, reports by surviving passengers say that most people on board engaged in quiet prayer. In 1977, Lynyrd Skynyrd boarded a plane headed to Louisiana State University. Ronnie Van Zant was the famed frontman of the group, but he also had the eerie gift of foresight. He was 29 years old. Was the crash really a simple malfunction, or was it something that could have been avoided? With steering capabilities greatly diminished and no propulsion, the pilots still decided to execute a turn. var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); In 1987, Lynyrd Skynyrd reunited for a full-scale tour with crash survivors Gary Rossington, Billy Powell, Leon Wilkeson and Artimus Pyle and former guitarist Ed King. A 30th anniversary re-release of the album restored the original cover. With Van Zants death, Lynyrd Skynyrd was effectively over for the moment. Youre probably also familiar with other hits like Simple Man, Tuesdays Gone and Gimme Three Steps, all released before 1977. Everyone else on the plane suffered serious injuries. Thankfully, MCA Records understood their concerns and changed the cover image to a less dramatic shot. A memorial was erected near the site of the crash in 2019. Luckily for the band, things began to take a turn for the positive. Courtesy of Artimus Pyle It was 44 years ago last month that a Convair CV-240 passenger plane with members of the Lynyrd. It was later revealed that Aerosmith turned it down after seeing the pilots drinking Jack Daniels during an inspection. How 'bout that for my old fishing buddy?". Street Survivors reached number five on Billboard's album chart and was the band's second platinum album. Here's the story of that album. Two more passengers emerged from the carnage including roadie Marc Frank and sound engineer Ken Peden. Skynyrd's breakthrough song, "Sweet Home Alabama," mocked Neil Young with seemingly simplistic lyrics that were a response to Young's "Southern Man" and "Alabama." Mote remembers the men being inconsolable and hugging him around the neck, telling him they needed to get them out.. Aerosmith said 'No,' Lynyrd Skynyrd said 'Yes' to the plane. Some of the trees were 80 feet tall, and the plane had a long way to go before coming to a halt. Please use Exit 8, then 8 miles West to Easley rd.. You can also follow Lynyrd Skynyrd Monument on Facebook. The band formed in 1964 and settled upon the name Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1966. Reluctantly, the rest of the band and Skynyrd entourage boarded the plane. They were almost 10,000 feet in the air and both engines were out. The aircraft itself was chock-full of people -- it was configured for 24 passengers, and that's what it was carrying. Death hovered over the group like the movie Final Destination and made the song That Smell and its lyrics even more eerie, prophetic, and popular: the smell of death surrounds you!. 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. Bassist Leon Wilkeson survived the horrific plane crash but just barely. Equipped with this ancient tool, Wall did his best to locate survivors. ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, OCT. 19, 1789, JOHN JAY SWORN IN AS FIRST SUPREME COURT JUSTICE. They ere living fast and hard. Because of his fragile health, Rossington has decided to launch the bands final tour in 2020. Together, the three desperately made their way through the surrounding swamp to find help. Billy Powell also died years later of a heart attack at the age of 56. Leon Wilkeson died in 2001 in his hotel room, presumably from natural causes, and Billy Powell passed away from a heart attack in 2009. The crash of the small Convair CV-240 passenger plane also claimed the lives of assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray. The plane they chose for this tour was a 1948 Convair 240. Several band members said Van Zant was very calm, and even a little annoyed that he had been woken up. . This plane was old and had already accumulated more than 29,000 hours of flight time. Lead singer and founder Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and his sister, backup singer Cassie Gaines, were all killed on impact. Powell simply replied, I dont think so. He was correct for a while. Several passengers were killed, including the charismatic front man and founder, Ronnie Van Zant. The Convair 240 took off at 4:02 p.m. on October 20, 1977, headed for Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Truth About The Infamous Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash Is Stranger Than Fiction, In 1977, Lynyrd Skynyrd Was On Tour For Their Fifth Album And It Was Their Biggest To Date, Lynyrd Skynyrd And Aerosmith Were Both Interested In The Same Plane, But Aerosmith Cited Safety Concerns And Backed Out, 48 Hours Prior To The Crash, The Band Was Flying On The Plane When They Saw Sparks Shoot Out Of The Engine, Several Band Members Did Not Want To Fly On The Convair, But They Were Overruled By Band Leader Ronnie Van Zant, Initially, The Flight Was Uneventful, But Suddenly, Problems Occurred With The Right Engine, The Left Propeller Also Suddenly Stopped, Thousands Of Feet In The Air, The Plane Glided For Several Thousand Terrifying Feet, As Soon As The Plane Went Down Near Tiny Gillsburg, Mississippi, Pyle Left To Find Help, A Local Fire Department Chief Was The First To The Crash Site, The Accident Forced An Album Cover Change And Brought Attention To A Prescient Song, A Member Who Intuitively Left The Band Had The Same Birthday As His Deceased Replacement, The Crash Was Only the Beginning Of Death And Tragedy For The Survivors, The Skynyrd-Neil Young Controversy Possibly Prompted The Vandalism Of Ronnie Van Zant's Grave.