They were directing him to the property next to his family's farm. Leslie Hawkins sustained a concussion, broke her neck in three places and had severe facial lacerations. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. One of them being completely decapitated. The other band members Collins, Gary Rossington, Wilkeson, Powell, Artimus Pyle, and Hawkins, tour manager Ron Eckerman, and several road crew suffered . Ronnie had died instantly upon impact, his head slamming into a tree. Thats when most of the sober members of the band saw that the right propeller was no longer working. Allen Collins, another guitar player for the group, had cracked two vertebrae, and the cut to his right arm was so severe, that it almost required amputation. 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Billy Powell, the bands keyboardist, received extensive facial lacerations and a broken right knee. Photo: obviousmag.org. He was more in the image I was pre-visualizing - one of an aging rocker. As we walked through the woods, Governor and I agree that nothing looked or felt the same. The other two members were JoJo Billingsley and Leslie Hawkins. Marc Frank, a 24-year-old roadie traveling with the band, noticed what seemed to be fuel spewing from the right engine. The will to carry on was strong, however, Pyle being a US Marine, would live out the phrase Semper Fidelis which means always faithful. And it left Teresa Gaines a widow. It wasn't a Cessna; it was a Convair CV 240, a twin engine, 40-passenger plane that was down in heavy woods near Gillsburg. His only help at that moment was his neighbor, Dwain Easley. These combinations of poorly built aircraft and less than acceptable crew quickly led to the dismissal of the band leasing out their services. So on the prow of this small boat, plowing the coastal water on the other side of the world, he and I abandoned inhibition with an unabashed air guitar jam. Ronnie had died instantly upon impact, his head slamming into a tree. The pilot and co-pilot also died; 20 others aboard lived. "I'd never seen anything like that," he said. All of the seats were ripped from the frame of the plane, landing in the front section of the crash. She performed as a backup singer in popular hits such as One More Time and That Smell. The crash killed singer/songwriter Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist/vocalist Steve Gaines, vocalist Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray. "It was the saddest thing," she recalls, 11 years later. I couldn't stand it. As soon as it seemed that the worst of the flight was passing, the true nightmare was about to set in for Lynyrd Skynyrd and the crew aboard. Artimus Pyle emerged with several broken ribs, and bleeding everywhere you could. He also knew I had no business there, but his face told me he knew I was beginning a new career that night. I knew I had no business going, and my wife told me so. Ben Gabel, of Denham Springs, is a former surveyor, and navigated to the scene from the official NTSB report, which includes the latitude and longitude. Toxicology tests were also ordered to determine whether there were drugs in his system at the time. These things don't happen here. ", "He came home covered in blood," said his wife, Lola. Tremendous physical pain overwhelmed the group as did mental exhaustion. Identification was completely hindered as there had been a poker game going on during the flight, and everyones wallets and purses had been strewn throughout the swamp. A costly mistake at 9,000ft or so. Everyone on the flight, except for Ronnie Van Zant, was feeling uneasy and restless. The reason behind this? Access the best of Getty Images with our simple subscription plan. "We didn't know how much gas was on the ground. Sang background vocals (one of the Honkettes) for Lynyrd Skynyrd. Cassie Larue Gaines was an American singer. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the probable cause of this accident was fuel exhaustion and total loss of power from both engines due to crew inattention to the fuel supply. "Folks were all mashed together. A few minutes later I was talking my way past a Mississippi State trooper. I told him that it was the strongest thing I had seen a man do.. As a member of the Civil Air Patrol on that fateful night, he heard the report of a plane crash over the citizens band radio. According to the bands autobiography, Zunk Buker, Aerosmiths chief of flight operations manager, was inspecting the plane and the crew before they pulled the trigger. Last of the two surviving original member of the band, Gary Rossington, with Johnny Van Zant to his left and guitarist Rickey Medlocke to the right. He could hear the people moaning, pleading for help. Artimus Pyle, drummer for the band, stops for a quick picture while en route to the next show. The band regularly has different people sit in and play shows with them like Warren Haynes and Dicky Betts. Guitarists Allen Collins and Steve Gaines, Honkette Leslie Hawkins, bassist Leon Wilkeson, Honkettes Cassie Gaines and JoJo Billingsley, and. The band buckled in. A Convair CV-240, similar to the one in the crash. 100+ love and trust messages for her to rekindle the passion, 100+ miss you sister quotes, messages, and texts to show your love, EU parliament chief urges Ukraine membership talks this year, UN chief condemns rich countries 'vicious' tactics against poor, Meet Empress Esi the 13-year-old GH girl building schools and giving joy to the needy through her foundation, Christian Atsu's family releases date, venue and other details about his final funeral rites, "Beauty and talent": Gorgeous young lady displays exceptional drumming skills in church, viral video melts hearts, What teams have never been to the super bowl. Four of the passengers were killed including bandleader and lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines and assistant tour manager Dean Kilpatrick. His wife, Lola, and my wife grew up together. 5 album. On one occasion after a show, he approached Billy Powell who was the bands keyboard player, and punched him so hard in the mouth he knocked his two front teeth out. Who died in the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash? He rushed to his truck and headed in. The site has drawn visitors over the years. He didn't know who the victims were. Van Zant, Steve and Cassie Gaines, Kilpatrick and the pilots were laid in a temporary morgue at a local high school gymnasium. It is reported that the pilots whose eyes were full of terror, told them to go back to their seats and prepare for impact. Marc Frank remembers seeing complete and total despair. Both of which helped the album climb to the No. Cause of death: Car accident. "Why, yes I do," I said, thinking about my roots, my old buddies and the high school dances. Three crew members died in a plane crash just three days after the release of their 5th album. At the beginning of the flight, all was well, amid high tensions. He drove down from his home in Oakland, Miss. Collins and other band members were severely injured. Buker had noticed the flight crew passing around liquor bottles while aboard the plane. When the news broke that it was Lynyrd Skynyrd's tour plane, Nancy and I stared at each other. So we came out here and got busy. As the small band of brothers grew, the conversation grew lively but stayed reverent. Laying on the ground, still alive for only a moment, to slowly bleed to death. All the surrounding land is privately owned and prominently marked with "No Trespassing" signs. One of the three men was the band's drummer Artimus Pyle, who yelled, "Plane crash." Powell's nose had been nearly ripped from his face after crashing head first through a table. Cassie Gaines Death: and Cause of Death. The years after the crash would be difficult in its own right for surviving members, most of which would experience tragedy and early death themselves. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. The band had just released their biggest album to date and was riding off of a good high. Even though she survived the actual crash, she eventually bled to death before the rescue team could reach her. A little after the two-hour mark, however, events started to unfold that would soon make history. Drummer Artimus Pyle crawled out of the plane wreckage with several broken ribs, but was ambulatory, as were road crew members Kenneth Peden Jr. and Mark Frank. Varying accounts have Mote either firing a warning shot into the air or actually shooting Pyle in the shoulder no report is completely reliable. Van Zant, Steve and Cassie Gaines, Kilpatrick and the pilots were laid in a temporary morgue at a local high school gymnasium. "May the free bird fly on," read one message. The reason is that just a few short days before some of the band members had reported seeing sparks a large as 10ft shooting out of the right engine. Aerosmith's touring family was also relieved because the band, specifically Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, had been trying to pressure their management into renting that specific plane. My younger brother and I banged out "Freebird" on a cheap set of drums in our bedroom. One guy standing near the wreckage lit a cigarette and I tackled him," he said. Gene Odom had been thrown from the plane and broke his neck, his skin badly burned and one eye blinded by phosphorus from a de-icing flare that had been aboard. A towering beech tree stands sentinel on the west side of the creek, carefully carved with scores of knurled epithets. I put them all to work. They were scheduled to perform at the Louisiana State University. Laying on the ground, still alive for only a moment, to slowly bleed to death. I would like to think that only one grave robber was involved, but so many items were missing that I have to believe otherwise. It was as if they were back in Noahs time and all but a select few were stricken with greed of mankind and the chance to capitalize on an easy opportunity. From the commercial hits of Free Bird and Simple Man to less mainstream songs like The Needle And The Spoon and T Is For Texas, Lynyrd Skynyrd and their driving southern sound quickly cut their way to the top of the charts and into the hearts of many across the states and around the world. The band has been on tour, and dates through the weekend have been cancelled. Pyle did confirm (from Pyle's interview on the The Howard Stern Show on Sirius Satellite Radio, Feb. 12, 2007) that Van Zant's cause of death was trauma to the head caused by equipment, such as Betamax tapes and Trinitrons, flying forward in the plane's cabin. He claims that Artimus Pyle, drummer for Lynyrd Skynyrd, survived scathe-less and crawled into the bushes watching Ronnie and the others die in this horrid fiery crash. Apparently, Artimus had been quoted saying that Ronnie got up, went to the back of the plane and gave him a hippy handshake but Gene was quite persistent on the fact that it was complete bull. Van Zant himself "loathed flying," as Rolling Stone. On one occasion after a show, he approached Billy Powell who was the bands keyboard player, and punched him so hard in the mouth he knocked his two front teeth out. Other band members were injured, some very seriously. The cockpit, tail, and wings completely ripped apart and the remaining cab lay desolate, in the shape of an L. The plane was simply not built well enough to even remotely handle the impact from the pine trees at roughly 90 mph. "If (that tree) could talk, it'd tell you all about it," he said. He had hunted squirrels along that very ridge. Especially Artimus, who had three broken ribs and multiple large cuts. Making the original release cover more valuable to collectors than the second cover released just a few weeks after the album hit the shelves. Pilots Walter McCreary and William Gray were fully aware of a fuel shortage before the flight took off. And to Brenda's point, he's writing a book. At the time of her death, she was 29 years old. Brenda Martin, 17 at the time, lived with her husband, Johnny Mote (now divorced) in their mobile home on the north side of the crash site. Over the ridge, a World War II vintage Willis Jeep crawled down a dusty logging trail. . Gary Rossington, one of the bands guitar players, had suffered two broken arms, a broken leg, a punctured stomach and liver. He had been impaled by a part of the fuselage and it pushed through his body and projected out of his back. (Photo by Ted Jackson). It Crashed, Killing 3 Members, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Drinking, Fighting, Hell-Raising: The Classic Skynyrd Lineup In Pittsburgh, Associate Press Mississippi Road Signs For Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash Site, Hollywood Reporter Appeals Court Reverses Ban on Lynyrd Skynyrd Movie, Ronnie Van Zant Of Lynyrd Skynyrd Predicted His Own Death, Groove History, 1977 Missippi Convair CV-240 Plane Crash, Wikipedia, History Collection The Deadliest Plane Crash in Canada Killed 248 Soldiers in 1985, History Collection A Plane Crashed into the Empire State Building (1945). Johnny headed for the crash site to see if he could help. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Crying, praying, and counting the dead to see who they would never hug, play music with, and enjoy company with again. Collins recovered and began performing again, eventually forming the Allen Collins Band. However, it is believed that the pilots were trying to transfer oil from one engine to another when they accidentally jettisoned the fuel instead. In 1975, his sister, Cassie, whose group had been hired to sing back. Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options are waiting for you. I quickly maneuvered free of a crumpled bumper and sped off. She was requested to join the band as a backing vocalist. Powell also claimed that Ronnie Van Zant's head had been smashed. Video of a barechested Pyle at the 1979 Volunteer Jam does not show evidence of a gunshot wound. But there wasn't any gas on the ground because they ran out of gas.". Headline from a local newspaper reporting the crash. With a newly-released album, "Street Survivors," they were flying from a concert in Greenville, S.C. to the next night's show at LSU in Baton Rouge in a substandard charter plane. On October 20, 1977, a Convair CV-240 carrying the band between shows from Greenville, South Carolina to Baton Rouge, Louisiana crashed outside of Gillsburg, Mississippi. Allen Collins suffered two cracked vertebrae in his neck, and both Collins and Leon Wilkeson nearly had arms amputated as a result of crash injuries. The album had deeper meaning than most. Soon after the plane would begin to jerk and shake violently. On 20th October 1977, the Lynyrd Skynyrd boarded a chartered Convair CV-240 to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after their performance in Greenville, South Carolina. Violent, wild, and belligerent, Ronnie was a force to be reckoned with. The events before the plane crash are perhaps the most bone-chilling ones you'd ever hear. An old high school friend, Bobby McDaniel, posted a photo and a comment about a name-carved tree from the crash site. Be the first to get hottest news from our Editor-in-Chief, Check your email and confirm your subscription. I grabbed my camera and jumped in the car. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. The pilots tried an emergency landing, but the plane crashed in the woods near Gillsburg in Mississippi. On October 20, 1977, they would board a flight bound for Louisiana that would crash in Gillsberg, Missippi and claim the lives of band members Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, along with Pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray. Its many hit songs include "Freebird," "Sweet Home Alabama," "Gimme Three Steps" and "Simple Man.". Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Mote was putting out square bales of hay for the cattle when he heard what sounded "like a car crash on a gravel road." After claiming his deceased son, Lacy Van Zant went to visit the other members of the band at the hospital. That farm belonged to a young dairy farmer named Johnny Mote. I dont know who you think we are but we were on a plane and the plane crashed out there on the other side of that cow pasture. Mote instantly connected the dots to the sound he heard earlier and the men that lay before him. Bianca is a force to be reckoned with in the American film industry. The cover would quickly be changed to a more bland blacked-out background with the band in the same pose after the accident. The guys hit the dirt and yelling out with what they had left Hey! Van Zant died instantly of blunt force trauma to the head. The only thing left was a trail of debris and people. Mike Rounsaville also arrived in the jeep with Dr. Lewis. Ultimate Classic Rock What Happened to the Survivors of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash? This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Cassie Gaines Wikipedia; Sponsored Links. One of them being completely decapitated. Marc Frank recalled hearing both engines on the plane then within a matter of minutes, just air passing over the cabin. Pyle, Frank, and Peden were met with hostility when they finally came up to Mote. No one that hit the ground alive died. He pulled the lifeless body of Cassie Gaines up by her belt. The band would be marked for strife as just before their inaugural tour, Allens wife would bleed to death due to a miscarriage. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. Pyle claimed in a February 2007 appearance on Howard Stern's Sirius radio program that Mote had shot him; Mote has always denied shooting the drummer. Updated cover after plane crash, 1977The official NTSB accident report reads, "The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of this accident was fuel exhaustion and total loss of power from both engines due to crew inattention to fuel supply. 1 on iTunes Charts, 36 songs, no apologies: Morgan Wallen delivers more (much more) of what made him countrys king, David Lindley, guitarist best known for work with Jackson Browne, dies at 78, Desperate mountain residents trapped by snow beg for help; We are coming, sheriff says, Look up: The 32 most spectacular ceilings in Los Angeles, Winter storms ease drought conditions in California, report shows, 19 cafes that make L.A. a world-class coffee destination, Best coffee city in the world? You are already subscribed to our newsletter! Her brother was Skynyrd guitarist Steve Gaines. Wilkeson would play in both Rossington Collins Band and the Allen Collins band. A small plane with 40 seats and two props the plane was anything but extraordinary. The single "What's Your Name" reached #13 on the single airplay charts in January of 1978. On the original pressing of the cover of Street Survivors was a photograph of the band engulfed in flames. memorial page for Cassie LaRue Hatfield Gaines (26 Nov 1926-15 Feb 1979), Find a Grave Memorial ID 37010431, citing Jacksonville Memory . Organize, control, distribute and measure all of your digital content. Lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and singer Cassie Gaines were all killed in the crash, and the band stopped performing and recording. Rescue vehicles on the ground found no direct path in sight. The album would reach gold in ten days after release and it would eventually go double platinum. Where Did We Find This Stuff? Wilkeson would eventually be found dead in a hotel room in 2001 at age 49.