Billy Powell would be in the new starting line-up of Lynyrd Skynyrd until his death in 2009. Assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, the pilot, and co-pilot Walter McCreary and William Gray also died. It would be another hour before I heard the big news. However, it is believed that the pilots were trying to transfer oil from one engine to another when they accidentally jettisoned the fuel instead. Then on the other side, it was Allen in the middle of Dean and Cassie. Where Did We Find This Stuff? Before joining the music band, she was an original cast member of a school play under Hairspray. The plane finally slammed into the earth, and Billy Powell recalls saying, We hit the trees at approximately 90 mph. The Convair 240 itself had been inspected by members of Aerosmith's flight crew for possible use in the early summer of 1977, but was rejected because it was felt that neither the plane nor the crew were up to standards. Cassie Larue Gaines was an American singer. Tremendous physical pain overwhelmed the group as did mental exhaustion. But soon, the helicopters that were heard and seen previously were on the scene. When the news broke that it was Lynyrd Skynyrd's tour plane, Nancy and I stared at each other. "Steve was at the peak of his career. You all just better get some rest. Dan Barnes recalls saying This man had just been to the funeral home and seen his son dead and decided to keep that to himself for these guys to heal. Collins, 37, suffered respiratory failure, said a Memorial Medical Center spokeswoman. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. While the site is duly remembered, it is on private property and is not open to the public. After I led him to the downtown McComb offices, I returned home, developed my film in a clumsy bathroom darkroom and went to sleep. Ronnie Van Zant, drunk and laying in the middle of the aisle, simply pulled himself together, sat up, and quietly chose a seat up front. Obviously it is hard to dictate the correct story when various opinions and recollections are thrown out, however, it seems to us as though the pilots were aware of the faulty issues of the plane, did not check to make sure that the plane had enough gas, and did not seem to make an attempt to alert the passengers of their timely death. As the small band of brothers grew, the conversation grew lively but stayed reverent. "The first thing I saw was a bloody hand reaching out from the debris. Lynyrd Skynyrd is a staple on rock, classic rock, and southern radio stations. The reason behind this? We always wondered why, you know. The surviving members would grapple with this throughout their days. Artimus Pyle emerged with several broken ribs, and bleeding everywhere you could. Gabel says he's been to the site 15 or more times. I began the classic guitar lick. Artimus Pyle and Gary Rossington are the only two members alive today from the crash. "New Orleans is a southern city. Two bulldozers were dispatched to plow a primitive path off nearby Highway 568 in order to give a ground path available to the first responders. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. They were directing him to the property next to his family's farm. Thats when most of the sober members of the band saw that the right propeller was no longer working. The accident essentially destroyed one of the unique voices of American rock and roll. Lynyrd Skynyrd was known for their hard-rocking style, driven by powerful guitars. Coincidence? A costly mistake at 9,000ft or so. "Folks were all mashed together. I knew I had no business going, and my wife told me so. Mote hopped into his pick-up to get back to his house, told his wife to get back in the house, then proceeded to grab his gun and stand guard. For another crash scene veteran, this was also his first return visit in 38 years. A tragic scene no person would ever wish to see or soon forget. 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. From left to right: Allen Collins, Ronnie Van Zant, And Gary Rossington. Photo: obviousmag.org. Where Did We Find This Stuff? How do they know? Lynyrd Skynyrd stops for a shot in 1973. It would also be the first album that guitarist Steve Gaines would be the sole guitar player on. Two bulldozers were dispatched to plow a primitive path off nearby Highway 568 in order to give a ground path available to the first responders. 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). The album had two notable songs: Whats your name and That Smell. The crash killed Ronnie Van Zant, Steve and Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, as well as pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray. Cassie Gaines, Steve Gainess sister who were both bound for death in the crash, would routinely ride on the equipment bus rather than the plane. At this point, for Artimus Pyle, Marc Frank, and Ken Peden, the only sensible thing left to do was to leave certain death at the crash site, for uncertainty in the swamp. "Seems like everyone is writing a book. Then on the other side, it was Allen in the middle of Dean and Cassie. This year there were no red roses, but a freshly carved "R.J." stood out with red paint enhancement. A tragic scene no person would ever wish to see or soon forget. For members Gary Rossington and Allen Collins, the weight of what happened seemed to push down on them the most. The rest of the group had no idea at the time that they would never see the face of Ronnie again. Gary Rossington, one of the bands guitar players, had suffered two broken arms, a broken leg, a punctured stomach and liver. He suffered a heart attack while on break from tour. Cassie Gaines mother was LaRue, while her father was Bud. It is possible that the damaged magneto fooled the pilots into creating an exceptionally rich fuel mixture, causing the Convair to run out of fuel. Leon Wilkeson and Billy Powell would both go on to pursue other musical ventures and both have a hand in several Lynyrd Skynyrd re-boots. I had not realized before, but he also was there that night. Band confidant, Gene Odum, is privately interviewed to share his story on what happened on this awful day in history. Home; Memorials; Cemeteries; Famous; Contribute; Register; Sign In; Register; Sign In; . Among them were Lacy Van Zant, Ronnies Father, and .38 Specials Guitarist Dan Barnes. It would take hours to remove the bodies of the dead and injured from the plane. 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. Mote fired a warning shot in the air. He suffered a heart attack . It was Steve, and me, and Ronnie and I was in the middle of them. Performance & security by Cloudflare. But I loved the bonding. Its many hit songs include "Freebird," "Sweet Home Alabama," "Gimme Three Steps" and "Simple Man.". Gary continues on the band with Ronnies brother, Johnny Van Zant, and guitarist Ricky Medlocke. I was just taken aback by it " but then his friend continued, "don't worry, Lynyrd made it out.". He smiled broadly and said, "Turn it up! That farm belonged to a young dairy farmer named Johnny Mote. My college roommate was a young photojournalist. It is a cautionary song about drug abuse that fans believed was aimed at one of the members. Bianca is an American actress. I'm really not sure anymore," he said. With the tree tops approaching fast and just eight miles short of the air strip, the plane was headed for a Mississippi swamp and nothing could be done to save them now. Other band members were injured, some very seriously. I worked the scene for about 30 minutes before a veteran photographer approached me and asked if I knew where the local paper "The Enterprise Journal" was located. 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. 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. I put them all to work. She said her husband grabbed his .243 hunting rifle, ran out and fired a warning shot. "I've been coming for years," he said, "and I've never met anyone who was here that night. However, other band members convinced her otherwise. Pilot Walter. But not all had the intentions of lending a helping hand. The Vintage News Aerosmith Said No, Lynyrd Skynyrd Said Yes To The Plane. So we came out here and got busy. Leon Wilkeson, their bass player, had arguably the most harrowing recovery; as he faced many internal injuries, dislodged teeth, and a broken left arm and leg, and his heart stopped twice on the operating table while doctors frantically struggled to keep him alive. We just had released an album that went gold almost overnight. Van Zant, Steve and Cassie Gaines, Kilpatrick and the pilots were laid in a temporary morgue at a local high school gymnasium. My younger brother and I banged out "Freebird" on a cheap set of drums in our bedroom. From left to right: Allen Collins, Ronnie Van Zant, And Gary Rossington. 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. Cassie was buried in Orange Park, Florida, together with her brother, Steve Gains. Shining from what seemed to be a small house on a dairy farm. The Vintage News Aerosmith Said No, Lynyrd Skynyrd Said Yes To The Plane. The band has been on tour, and dates through the weekend have been cancelled. All the surrounding land is privately owned and prominently marked with "No Trespassing" signs. Cassie Gaines, a member of the backing vocal trio known as the Honkettes and sister of guitarist Steve Gaines, was so petrified that she nearly squeezed in the band's cramped equipment truck. The plane had a thinner fuselage and smaller wingspan than any of its kind at the time. Birth Name: Cassie LaRue Gaines Occupation: Rock Singer Place Of Birth: Missouri Date Of Birth: January 9, 1948 Date Of Death: October 20, 1977 Cause Of Death: N/A Ethnicity: White Nationality: American Cassie Gaines was born on the 9th of January, 1948. Members of the band that survived the crash said that Cassie actually . Powell's nose had been nearly ripped from his face after crashing head first through a table. The official cause of death will be announced after toxicology test results come back in two to three weeks. Gary Rossington, one of the bands guitar players, had suffered two broken arms, a broken leg, a punctured stomach and liver. In 1975, his sister, Cassie, whose group had been hired to sing back. "Live on my brother. The fuselage turned sideways, and everybody was hurled forward.. I knew I could take photographs if I could get there. They all died but we didnt. At the beginning of the flight, all was well, amid high tensions. As they, too, were succumbing to the sub-par standards of the plane and crew. 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. The aircraft crashed in a heavily wooded area during an attempted emergency landing. ", "There were plenty of old boys standing around here. Both pilots were lost in the crash as well, however, a decent amount of fans seek the closure of their conviction of attempted manslaughter, even in death. Totaled, decimated, and left for dead. The band regularly has different people sit in and play shows with them like Warren Haynes and Dicky Betts. Cassie Gaines Wikipedia; Sponsored Links. Steve Gaines was killed instantly upon impact and his sister Cassie Gaines perished as well. Here Are Our Sources: Remembering Lynyrd Skynyrds Deadly 1977 Plane Crash, Jordan Runtagh, The Rolling Stones, What Happened To The Surviving Members Of The Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash?, Micheal Cristopher, Ultimate Classic Rock.com, Falling Free Bird: The Truth About The Infamous Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash Is Stranger Than Fiction, Phil Gibbons, Ranker.com, The Joplin Globe Steve and Cassie Gaines to be inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. The band got its name as a way of mocking Leonard Skinner, a gym coach at Robert E. Lee High School known for punishing his long-haired students specifically band co-founders Gary Rossington and Bob Burns. [2] Gary continues on the band with Ronnies brother, Johnny Van Zant, and guitarist Ricky Medlocke. I'm from southern Thailand. Pyle maintains in the Howard Stern interview that the fuel gauge in the older model plane malfunctioned and the pilots had failed to manually check the tanks before taking off. Ronnies mother Marion refused to make the flight, after seeing a horrific plane crash of her own that killed 9 people. Ronnie Van Zant was just more than the bands main songwriter, frontman, and singer. Rossington recalls saying It was always weird for Allen and me because we were up front in the plane. Johnny Mote and his ragtag team were first on the crash site. Lead vocalist and founding member of the southern rock band, Ronnie Van Zant, also lost his life in the accident. Everyone was afraid of riding on this plane. Here are 10 facts about Lynyrd Skynyrd and their fateful end.