Post by jacksonvillekid on Mar 25, 2007 20:54:50 GMT -5
"Six dead, twenty injured when plane's engine fails"
Posted Dec 01, 1977 12:00 AM - ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE
"We had decided the night before that we would definitely get rid of the plane in Baton Rouge. So we started partying to celebrate the last flight on it. The right engine started sputtering, and I went up to the cockpit. The pilot said they were just transferring oil from one wing to another, everything's okay. Later, the engine went dead. Artimus [Pyle] and I ran to the cockpit. The pilot was in shock. He said, 'Oh my God, strap in.' Ronnie [Van Zant] had been asleep on the floor and Artimus got him up and he was really pissed. We strapped in and a minute later we crashed. The pilot said he was trying for a field, but I didn't see one. The trees kept getting closer, they kept getting bigger. Then there was a sound like someone hitting the outside of the plane with hundreds of baseball bats. I crashed into a table; people were hit by flying objects all over the plane. Ronnie was killed with a single head injury. The top of the plane was ripped open. Artimus crawled out the top and said there was a swamp, maybe alligators. I kicked my way out and felt for my hands -- they were still there. I felt for my nose and it wasn't, it was on the side of my face. There was just silence. Artimus and Ken Peden and I ran to get help, Artimus with his ribs sticking out." -- BILLY POWELL
McCOMB, MISSISSIPPI: 0ne of America's hardest working and most popular rock bands was decimated when its chartered plane went down eight miles short of the airport here October 20th.
Three members of Lynyrd Skynyrd -- lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and his sister, backup singer Cassie -- were killed instantly in the crash. Also dead were the group's assistant road manager, Dean Kilpatrick; the plane's pilot, Walter McCreary; and the copilot, William Gray.
Bass player Leon Wilkeson suffered a broken jaw, a crushed chest and internal bleeding. He was taken to Southwest Medical Center here, where initially he was in critical condition. Guitarists Allen Collins and Gary Rossington, because of their severe injuries, were flown to hospitals in Jackson. Collins injured his spine, and Rossington broke his leg and had a severe concussion. Backup singer Leslie Hawkins was also taken to a Jackson hospital, where she underwent plastic surgery as a result of facial cuts. All four were in stable condition at press time.
Keyboardist Billy Powell and drummer Artimus Pyle were released from hospitals in Jackson and Magnolia the week after the crash.
Twenty-six people were in the twin-engine, propeller-driven Convair 240 when it crashed. Six died, one was treated and released, and nineteen were hospitalized.
The plane, which was leased from the L&J Leasing Company of Dallas, was taking the group from Greenville, South Carolina, where it had performed October 19th to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where the band was scheduled to play October 21st.
The plane crashed in a swamp area short of an open field where the pilot was attempting to make an emergency landing. He had radioed the airport at McComb that the plane was having fuel problems.
There are conflicting reports on the condition of the thirty-year-old plane prior to takeoff. One member of the group's entourage, sound technician Ken Peden, said six-foot flames had been shooting from one of the engines on a flight from Miami to Greenville the day before the crash.
However, Louis L. May Jr., one of the owners of L&J Leasing, said he was unaware of any mechanical problems with the plane. He would not comment further.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash. Spokesman Robert Buckhorn said it would take several months to determine probable cause. He said the board would try to determine the condition of the plane and would also study toxicology reports on the crew.
Steve and Cassie Gaines were buried October 23rd in Miami, Oklahoma, their hometown. Private services were held for Ronnie Van Zant October 25th in the Jacksonville Memory Garden. Billy Powell, on crutches and with his face stitched up, was the only band member able to attend. Friends attending included Dickey Betts, Charlie Daniels, Al Kooper, Tom Dowd and members of Grinderswitch, .38 Special and the Atlanta Rhythm Section.
After a recording of David Allen Coe's "Another Pretty Country Song" was played, Daniels and members of .38 Special sang "Amazing Grace." Daniels then read a poem he had composed, and the Reverend David Evans, a friend of the band, conducted a short service in front of the brass coffin covered with red roses. Van Zant was buried with his favorite fishing pole.
Like singer Jim Croce, who died in a Louisiana air crash September 20th, 1973 (also in a Dallas-based charter plane), Skynyrd was just beginning to peak. The group's frenetic touring schedule (up to 300 days a year) and series of gold records established it as a leading American band. The current tour (which started in Miami, Florida, October 15th and was to end February 1st in Honolulu) was by far its most ambitious and longest. It would have been the first time Skynyrd headlined at New York's Madison Square Garden.
Lynyrd Skynyrd was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1973. Van Zant, Rossington and Collins, who grew up together, had started a band called My Backyard in 1965. They later added Wilkeson and Powell; the rest of the original group included guitarist Ed King and drummer Bob Burns. Burns was replaced in 1975 by Artimus Pyle, and when King left the band later that year, Steve Gaines came aboard.
The group's triple-guitar attack and Van Zant's prolific songwriting and powerful stage presence first drew producer/musician Al Kooper's attention. Kooper had formed Sounds of the South Records, which MCA agreed to distribute. With Kooper producing, the group recorded Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd (the name came from Leonard Skinner, Van Zant's much-hated high school gym teacher). The album became a steady seller, and one cut, "Free Bird" (a tribute to Duane Allman), became a radio classic. During that time Skynyrd began its constant touring with its Confederate flag and with "Dixie" blasting from the speakers before the shows.
The group really began to build a huge following when it opened during the Who's Quadrophenia tour. Next came Second Helping, which included Van Zant's new Southern anthem, "Sweet Home Alabama," and its infamous advice to Neil Young that "Southern man don't want him around."
Tom Dowd became Skynyrd's producer for its fourth and fifth albums, Gimme Back My Bullets and One More From the Road. The latter, which marked Steve Gaines' recording debut with the group, was a powerful two-record live set.
The group's sixth album was released three days before the plane crash. Called Street Survivors, the album will haunt Lynyrd Skynyrd fans forever. On the cover the group appears to be in flames; one Van Zant composition is about death (called "That Smell," it was written last year after Rossington was seriously injured in a car wreck and Collins and Powell had also been in car crashes). The album also includes an order form for a "Lynyrd Skynyrd Survival Kit" -- T-shirts, pendants and booklets.
Skynyrd manager Peter Rudge said his firm, Sir Productions, is setting up a trust fund for Van Zant's and Gaines' children.
www.rollingstone.com/artists/lynyrdskynyrd/articles/story/5933655/the_last_flight_of_lynyrd_skynyrd
Posted Dec 01, 1977 12:00 AM - ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE
"We had decided the night before that we would definitely get rid of the plane in Baton Rouge. So we started partying to celebrate the last flight on it. The right engine started sputtering, and I went up to the cockpit. The pilot said they were just transferring oil from one wing to another, everything's okay. Later, the engine went dead. Artimus [Pyle] and I ran to the cockpit. The pilot was in shock. He said, 'Oh my God, strap in.' Ronnie [Van Zant] had been asleep on the floor and Artimus got him up and he was really pissed. We strapped in and a minute later we crashed. The pilot said he was trying for a field, but I didn't see one. The trees kept getting closer, they kept getting bigger. Then there was a sound like someone hitting the outside of the plane with hundreds of baseball bats. I crashed into a table; people were hit by flying objects all over the plane. Ronnie was killed with a single head injury. The top of the plane was ripped open. Artimus crawled out the top and said there was a swamp, maybe alligators. I kicked my way out and felt for my hands -- they were still there. I felt for my nose and it wasn't, it was on the side of my face. There was just silence. Artimus and Ken Peden and I ran to get help, Artimus with his ribs sticking out." -- BILLY POWELL
McCOMB, MISSISSIPPI: 0ne of America's hardest working and most popular rock bands was decimated when its chartered plane went down eight miles short of the airport here October 20th.
Three members of Lynyrd Skynyrd -- lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and his sister, backup singer Cassie -- were killed instantly in the crash. Also dead were the group's assistant road manager, Dean Kilpatrick; the plane's pilot, Walter McCreary; and the copilot, William Gray.
Bass player Leon Wilkeson suffered a broken jaw, a crushed chest and internal bleeding. He was taken to Southwest Medical Center here, where initially he was in critical condition. Guitarists Allen Collins and Gary Rossington, because of their severe injuries, were flown to hospitals in Jackson. Collins injured his spine, and Rossington broke his leg and had a severe concussion. Backup singer Leslie Hawkins was also taken to a Jackson hospital, where she underwent plastic surgery as a result of facial cuts. All four were in stable condition at press time.
Keyboardist Billy Powell and drummer Artimus Pyle were released from hospitals in Jackson and Magnolia the week after the crash.
Twenty-six people were in the twin-engine, propeller-driven Convair 240 when it crashed. Six died, one was treated and released, and nineteen were hospitalized.
The plane, which was leased from the L&J Leasing Company of Dallas, was taking the group from Greenville, South Carolina, where it had performed October 19th to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where the band was scheduled to play October 21st.
The plane crashed in a swamp area short of an open field where the pilot was attempting to make an emergency landing. He had radioed the airport at McComb that the plane was having fuel problems.
There are conflicting reports on the condition of the thirty-year-old plane prior to takeoff. One member of the group's entourage, sound technician Ken Peden, said six-foot flames had been shooting from one of the engines on a flight from Miami to Greenville the day before the crash.
However, Louis L. May Jr., one of the owners of L&J Leasing, said he was unaware of any mechanical problems with the plane. He would not comment further.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash. Spokesman Robert Buckhorn said it would take several months to determine probable cause. He said the board would try to determine the condition of the plane and would also study toxicology reports on the crew.
Steve and Cassie Gaines were buried October 23rd in Miami, Oklahoma, their hometown. Private services were held for Ronnie Van Zant October 25th in the Jacksonville Memory Garden. Billy Powell, on crutches and with his face stitched up, was the only band member able to attend. Friends attending included Dickey Betts, Charlie Daniels, Al Kooper, Tom Dowd and members of Grinderswitch, .38 Special and the Atlanta Rhythm Section.
After a recording of David Allen Coe's "Another Pretty Country Song" was played, Daniels and members of .38 Special sang "Amazing Grace." Daniels then read a poem he had composed, and the Reverend David Evans, a friend of the band, conducted a short service in front of the brass coffin covered with red roses. Van Zant was buried with his favorite fishing pole.
Like singer Jim Croce, who died in a Louisiana air crash September 20th, 1973 (also in a Dallas-based charter plane), Skynyrd was just beginning to peak. The group's frenetic touring schedule (up to 300 days a year) and series of gold records established it as a leading American band. The current tour (which started in Miami, Florida, October 15th and was to end February 1st in Honolulu) was by far its most ambitious and longest. It would have been the first time Skynyrd headlined at New York's Madison Square Garden.
Lynyrd Skynyrd was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1973. Van Zant, Rossington and Collins, who grew up together, had started a band called My Backyard in 1965. They later added Wilkeson and Powell; the rest of the original group included guitarist Ed King and drummer Bob Burns. Burns was replaced in 1975 by Artimus Pyle, and when King left the band later that year, Steve Gaines came aboard.
The group's triple-guitar attack and Van Zant's prolific songwriting and powerful stage presence first drew producer/musician Al Kooper's attention. Kooper had formed Sounds of the South Records, which MCA agreed to distribute. With Kooper producing, the group recorded Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd (the name came from Leonard Skinner, Van Zant's much-hated high school gym teacher). The album became a steady seller, and one cut, "Free Bird" (a tribute to Duane Allman), became a radio classic. During that time Skynyrd began its constant touring with its Confederate flag and with "Dixie" blasting from the speakers before the shows.
The group really began to build a huge following when it opened during the Who's Quadrophenia tour. Next came Second Helping, which included Van Zant's new Southern anthem, "Sweet Home Alabama," and its infamous advice to Neil Young that "Southern man don't want him around."
Tom Dowd became Skynyrd's producer for its fourth and fifth albums, Gimme Back My Bullets and One More From the Road. The latter, which marked Steve Gaines' recording debut with the group, was a powerful two-record live set.
The group's sixth album was released three days before the plane crash. Called Street Survivors, the album will haunt Lynyrd Skynyrd fans forever. On the cover the group appears to be in flames; one Van Zant composition is about death (called "That Smell," it was written last year after Rossington was seriously injured in a car wreck and Collins and Powell had also been in car crashes). The album also includes an order form for a "Lynyrd Skynyrd Survival Kit" -- T-shirts, pendants and booklets.
Skynyrd manager Peter Rudge said his firm, Sir Productions, is setting up a trust fund for Van Zant's and Gaines' children.
www.rollingstone.com/artists/lynyrdskynyrd/articles/story/5933655/the_last_flight_of_lynyrd_skynyrd