39 Years Ago Today

[chickenman]

On October 20, 1977, a Convair CV-240 chartered by Lynyrd Skynyrd ran out of fuel and crashed in Gillsburg, Mississippi, near the end of its flight from Greenville, South Carolina, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist/vocalist Steve Gaines, backing vocalist Cassie Gaines (Steve's older sister), assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray all died as a result of the crash. Twenty others survived.

The pilo...ts attempted an emergency landing on a small airstrip, but the plane crashed in a forest near Gillsburg, Mississippi.

Cassie Gaines was a member of Lynyrd Skynyrd's backup vocal group "The Honkettes". One of the other members of the group, JoJo Billingsley, was not on the plane and was home sick as she had been planning to join the tour in Little Rock, Arkansas, on October 23. Billingsley has said that she had dreamed of the plane crash and begged Allen Collins by telephone not to continue using it.

Do you remember your first thoughts when you heard of the crash?

RIP Cassie, Steve, Ronnie, Dean, Walter and William. They are as free as a bird now

 

[robomont]

thats one really clear photo to be so old.sad.

 

[1diesel1]

Somber day, still feel the pain. Life is very fragile. The memory will live forever, SKYNYRD RULES!!!!!!!!
Saw skynyrd in Portland, bad company opened. Little brother made the show, loved the show, very fond memory.

 

[chickenman]

thats one really clear photo to be so old.sad.

???
They did have pretty good cameras back in those days..lol...

The plane had a history.

The Convair CV-240 had been inspected by members of Aerosmith's flight crew for possibl...e use earlier in 1977, but was rejected because it was felt that neither the plane nor the crew were up to standards. Aerosmith's assistant chief of flight operations Zunk Buker tells of seeing pilots McCreary and Gray passing a bottle of Jack Daniel's back and forth while he and his father were inspecting the plane. 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.

 

[dalai farma]

Anybody watch the show Roadies on Showtime ? You know why I'm asking in this thread if you do.