Collect, curate and comment on your files. Cassie was 29 years old at the time of death. A tragic scene no person would ever wish to see or soon forget. 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. He was the New Orleans-based photographer for the Associated Press Jack Thornell, known for his Pulitzer Prize winning photo of civil rights leader James Meredith. Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options are waiting for you. He pulled the lifeless body of Cassie Gaines up by her belt. There is some speculation as to why the second engine had ultimately failed. 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. I can't remember," he said. 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. "It was a lot wetter that night. Without wanting to cause alarm he thought to himself that maybe the pilots were trying to transfer fuel from one engine to another. "It was the saddest thing," she recalls, 11 years later. He had hunted squirrels along that very ridge. However, they were apparently talked into using it just one more time which happened to be their last ride. Photo: Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader. Rossington recalls saying It was always weird for Allen and me because we were up front in the plane. What injuries did Cassie Gaines die from? 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. Johnny Mote and his ragtag team were first on the crash site. Thats when most of the sober members of the band saw that the right propeller was no longer working. Artimus Pyle was also notoriously outspoken against the plane and on several occasions would take buses to shows. He suffered a heart attack while on break from tour. Skip to main content. The famous music band Lynyrd Skynyrd is considered to have one of the most gruesome band histories after losing several people in an aerial accident. The three injured men hiked some distance from the crash site, through swampy woods, and finally flagged down farmer Johnny Mote, who had come to investigate. Ronnie Van Zant was just more than the bands main songwriter, frontman, and singer. Suffocating the people on the bottom from the sheer weight. We beat patterns into our dashboards drumming out the beat. Johnny Mote and his ragtag team were first on the crash site. All he could think was that they must be from a recent a jailbreak," she said. Lead vocalist and founding member of the southern rock band, Ronnie Van Zant, also lost his life in the accident. Although Steven Tyler and Joe Perry had insisted that they charter the plane, ultimately it was not signed to the band. I'm really not sure anymore," he said. The events before the plane crash are perhaps the most bone-chilling ones you'd ever hear. Before joining the music band, she was an original cast member of a school play under Hairspray. The album had a very controversial cover when released. Ronnie Van Zant enjoying a stog before a show. Street Survivors became the band's second platinum album, and was the #5 top selling album on the U.S. album chart. The pilot and co-pilot also died; 20 others aboard lived. While the site is duly remembered, it is on private property and is not open to the public. Steven Earl Gaines (September 14, 1949 - October 20, 1977) was an American musician. Get the news that matters from one of the leading news sites in Ghana, UN development chief sounds alarm over debt distress, Texas: Wind and solar stake claim to land of oil, Couple loses GH 300,000 on their wedding after guests don't show up: "So heartbroken", "Rest Well": Thomas Partey pays tribute to Christian Atsu as she scores in Arsenal's 3-2 win over Bournemouth, Hard guy dey cry: Sulley Muntari sheds tears at Christian Atsu's 1-week observance, Richard Kingston consoles him in sad video, 150+ Sad messages: ideas to express your deepest feelings in 2022, What happened to Jade Castrinos after Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, List of American foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner that you will love, 80+ Juice WRLD's quotes and lyrics about love, life, success and heartbreak. The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. In addition to his fractured ribcage, Artimus Pyle was treated for numerous abrasions and contusions. 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. She is famous for starring in Saved by the Bell: The New Class, Goode Behavior, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. His first impression was, "What is a bunch of hippies doing on an airplane? The rest of the group had no idea at the time that they would never see the face of Ronnie again. The band regularly has different people sit in and play shows with them like Warren Haynes and Dicky Betts. 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 entered the hospital with pneumonia symptoms and was in a coma the last few days, said longtime friend Ann Thompson. Posted and no trespassing signs are prominently displayed. A chartered Convair 240, N55VM, carrying the band between shows from Greenville, South Carolina to LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana crashed near a forest in McComb, Mississippi. It was going to be the replacement for Douglas C3s with a pressurized cabin that was then just being mandated as a rule for commercial airlines. One guy standing near the wreckage lit a cigarette and I tackled him," he said. Dean Kilpatrick, the bands manager, lay dead and covered in blood. The plane had a thinner fuselage and smaller wingspan than any of its kind at the time. But as my wife and I watched the news bulletins flash on TV, it was a big deal. It was Steve, and me, and Ronnie and I was in the middle of them. I'm from southern Thailand. Lynyrd Skynyrd is a FANDOM Music Community. However, other band members convinced her otherwise. The original cover was restored after the 30th anniversary of the album. There are just too few physical landmarks. When the news broke that it was Lynyrd Skynyrd's tour plane, Nancy and I stared at each other. On October 20, 1977, Cassie Gaines died of non-communicable disease. Shining from what seemed to be a small house on a dairy farm. Wilkeson cheated death in 1977, surviving a crash of the band's chartered plane. "It was stuff I'd been trained to do," he said. Almost four decades later, I noticed a seemingly innocuous post on Facebook. Willing to lend a hand and stick by his bandmates, he was hard to beat when standing by your side. And then we heard voices. Mote recalls the first thing he saw was a bloody hand sticking out from the wreckage. It was rumored that it was Ed Kings (original guitar player for Lynyrd Skynyrd) wife but it was not confirmed. A Convair CV-240, similar to the one in the crash. Lynyrd Skynyrd is a staple on rock, classic rock, and southern radio stations. Everyone just stood there helpless. Marc Frank recalled hearing both engines on the plane then within a matter of minutes, just air passing over the cabin. Two of them were crew members, pilot Walter McReary and co-pilot William Gray, the rest were band members and roadies. His first band recorded its debut at Sun Recording Studio in Memphis, and later bands included RIO Smokehouse and Rusty Day. Artimus Pyle was also notoriously outspoken against the plane and on several occasions would take buses to shows. It was there where he was found dead in his room on July 27. The band enjoyed national fame in the 1970s with such hits as Gimme Three Steps and Sweet Home Alabama.. July 30, 2001 -- Leon Wilkeson, bass player and founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, is dead at age 49. If you look closely, Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines (2 of 3 band members to die in the crash) are completely engulfed in flames, whereas the rest of the band is merely standing around in the streets of fire. [2] 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. I knew I had no business going, and my wife told me so. Ronnie Van Zant enjoying a stog before a show. A tragic scene no person would ever wish to see or soon forget. He, like me, was 21-years-old at the time. 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. In 1982 he would form the Allen Collins band but shortly after would wreck his new Ford Thunderbird, killing his then girlfriend and paralyzing Collins. As medical personnel triaged the scene, he helped carry the litters of the injured and the dead across the creek to a waiting 4-wheel-drive pickup truck. Photo credits Airplane-Pictures.net. Steve Gaines was killed instantly upon impact and his sister Cassie Gaines perished as well. The band would be marked for strife as just before their inaugural tour, Allens wife would bleed to death due to a miscarriage. Over the weekend, the message boards on the official Web site were flooded with messages of lament for the "living legend," "free bird," and simple man.". "Yes, your right," I said, slightly amused. Crying, praying, and counting the dead to see who they would never hug, play music with, and enjoy company with again. Wilkeson suffered severe internal injuries, including a punctured lung, and had most of his teeth knocked out. It would take hours to remove the bodies of the dead and injured from the plane. But we were both enjoying it. 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. Losing daylight, the pilots desperately looked for an open field or some kind of saving grace. 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. The only thing left was a trail of debris and people. Security manager Gene Odom was seriously burned on his arm and face and lost the sight in one eye as a result of an emergency flare on board the plane that was activated during the crash. 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. The whole scene tore him apart. With the dust settled from a plane crash that would make a small Mississippi town famous, everything that surrounded the few conscious and able survivors were completely horrific and getting darker by the second. As the small band of brothers grew, the conversation grew lively but stayed reverent. We love you!!!" The choppers belonged to the Coast Guard, National Guard and Forrest County General Hospital, who were doing their best to ferry people in, and illuminate the crash site. He says he first came in the 80s after he graduated. Band members Artimus Pyle and Billy Powell entered the cockpit to get an idea of what was happening. 137.184.228.194 Lynyrd Skynyrd was known for their hard-rocking style, driven by powerful guitars. After I led him to the downtown McComb offices, I returned home, developed my film in a clumsy bathroom darkroom and went to sleep. 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 Gaines Birthday and Date of Death. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, K-Pop isnt the only hot ticket in Koreatown how trot is captivating immigrants, Daisy Jones & the Six becomes the first fictional band to hit No. Artimus Pyle once said they were flying in a plane that he believed belonged to the Clampett family (they were the family from the Beverly Hillbillies, a family notorious for using pieced together equipment.). And to Brenda's point, he's writing a book. From left to right: Allen Collins, Ronnie Van Zant, And Gary Rossington. However, it is believed that the pilots were trying to transfer oil from one engine to another when they accidentally jettisoned the fuel instead. I used my camera in my work. The sky is the limit for the talented actress. In the ensuing chaos, souvenir hunters took billfolds, jewelry, suitcases, band merchandise and even chunks of metal from the crash site. 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. News had spread about the crash and before too long an estimated 3,000 people had swarmed to the crash site. Some of the guys were playing poker. Marc Frank, a 24-year-old roadie traveling with the band, noticed what seemed to be fuel spewing from the right engine. Wilkeson cheated death in 1977, surviving a crash of the band's chartered plane. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. One band member, JoJo Billingsly, was not on the flight. Headline from a local newspaper reporting the crash. Pilot Walter. Lynyrd Skynyrd reformed in 1987, and has been touring and recording steadily ever since with Johnny Van Zant, brother of the late Ronnie, as lead singer. As the three marched on, feet soaking wet from the water, all odds seemed stacked against the trio. His post noted that he and many others had made pilgrimages for years to the site to pay their respects. Van Zant, Steve and Cassie Gaines, Kilpatrick and the pilots were laid in a temporary morgue at a local high school gymnasium. At the end of the day, Ronnie and the boys are gone and we lost a rock n roll angel on October 20, 1977. The aircraft crashed in a heavily wooded area during an attempted emergency landing. 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. Mother of Lynyrd Skynyrd members Cassie Gaines and Steve Gaines. At least one member, background singer Cassie Gaines, had refused to board the flight, but was convinced against her better judgment. The Vintage News Aerosmith Said No, Lynyrd Skynyrd Said Yes To The Plane. Road crew member Steve Lawler, who suffered severe contusions and facial lacerations, was taken to the hospital in a pickup with a camper top. Gene Odom, Lynyrd Skynyrds bodyguard, recalls: They took my watch, my wallet, my ring, and my money as I lay bleeding on the ground. Despite this faux pas, Powell has been on good terms with the remaining band members since the incident. 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. In 1977, lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Stevie Gaines and Gaines' sister, Cassie Gaines, were killed in a plane crash. I began the classic guitar lick. 2023 Getty Images. In this video you will see the true story behind the tragic passing of Ronnie Van Zant, Cassie Gaines, Dean Kilpatrick, and Steve Gaines on October 20, 1977. Artimus Pyle emerged with several broken ribs, and bleeding everywhere you could. Pyle, Frank, and Peden were met with hostility when they finally came up to Mote. Three crew members died in a plane crash just three days after the release of their 5th album. Tangled by underbrush and the 20-foot creek, the rescue team had to act and think fast. No one that hit the ground alive died. 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. A costly mistake at 9,000ft or so. Most of the 20 survivors were taken to Southwest Regional Medical Center in McComb, where the lobby had been transformed into a makeshift emergency treatment center to quickly deal with the onslaught of plane crash victims. I knew my camera had stories to tell. Birthday: January 9, 1948. We had to cross a black water slew," he said. Victims were taken to the hospital in McComb, Mississippi by ambulances and other vehicles. Powell's version of events has been discounted by both Artimus Pyle and Judy Van Zant Jenness, who posted the autopsy reports on the band's website in early 1998 in order to set the record straight. Pilot Walter McCrearey and co-pilot John Grey were killed on impact. Steve Gaines was killed instantly upon impact and his sister Cassie Gaines perished as well. 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. Photo: Pinterest. Cassie joined the team and became one of the three members of The Honkette's, a female gospel vocal trio of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Guitarists Allen Collins and Steve Gaines, Honkette Leslie Hawkins, bassist Leon Wilkeson, Honkettes Cassie Gaines and JoJo Billingsley, and. Lewis was on emergency room call that night at McComb's Southwest Regional Medical Center. The death of Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and Cassie Gains of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd was a massive blow to many. Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines, along with backup singer Cassie Gaines (Steve's older sister), assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray died. So, with little hesitation I decided I should join the dance. The album would go through several cover changes and would mark a new era for the guys. Over the ridge, a World War II vintage Willis Jeep crawled down a dusty logging trail. Assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, the pilot, and co-pilot Walter McCreary and William Gray also died. Pilots Walter McCreary and William Gray were fully aware of a fuel shortage before the flight took off. Ultimate Classic Rock What Happened to the Survivors of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash? The whole scene tore him apart. Among them were Lacy Van Zant, Ronnies Father, and .38 Specials Guitarist Dan Barnes. Artimus has had many ups and downs since then, several incarcerations, and a huge falling out with Gary. Ultimate Classic Rock What Happened to the Survivors of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash? McDaniel was eager to join me. I quickly maneuvered free of a crumpled bumper and sped off. 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. 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. Leslie Hawkins sustained a concussion, broke her neck in three places and had severe facial lacerations. Where Did We Find This Stuff? Totaled, decimated, and left for dead. Violent, wild, and belligerent, Ronnie was a force to be reckoned with. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. 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. Tremendous physical pain overwhelmed the group as did mental exhaustion. Cassie Gaines was born on January 9, 1948 and died on October 20, 1977. She performed as a backup singer in popular hits such as One More Time and That Smell. In 1982 he would form the Allen Collins band but shortly after would wreck his new Ford Thunderbird, killing his then girlfriend and paralyzing Collins. But there wasn't any gas on the ground because they ran out of gas.". The plane finally slammed into the earth, and Billy Powell recalls saying, We hit the trees at approximately 90 mph. It was suggested on the VH-1 Behind The Music profile on Skynyrd that this was the case, or that the pilots, panicking when the right engine failed, accidentally dumped the remaining fuel. Lynyrd Skynyrd pose for a portrait circa 1976. At the beginning of the flight, all was well, amid high tensions. "You like Lynyrd Skynyrd?" "He (Mote) ran in the door saying, 'Ya'll get down on the floor, there's escaped convicts out there," Martin remembers. He didn't know who the victims were. His only help at that moment was his neighbor, Dwain Easley. She was brought up in Miami, Florida, alongside her brothers, Bob and Steve. According to a Billboard report, he died of natural causes in his sleep. For many years, a dozen red roses have been carefully placed around the base, much like the mysterious unfinished bottle of Martell cognac at the grave of Edgar Allen Poe in Baltimore. Shining from what seemed to be a small house on a dairy farm. I was not there to be a gawker or to get in the way. I'm still not sure why. Terror soon engulfed the cabin of the plane and the pilots were frantically trying to radio local Houston Air Traffic Control, stating they had a fuel issue and were most likely going to have to make a emergency landing. The Vintage News Aerosmith Said No, Lynyrd Skynyrd Said Yes To The Plane. This year there were no red roses, but a freshly carved "R.J." stood out with red paint enhancement. On several occasions, the latter shined through. The guys hit the dirt and yelling out with what they had left Hey! On hearing of the accident, Billingsley was so shaken that some of her hair fell out. he said, barely able to get his English to suit his thoughts. Soon after the plane would begin to jerk and shake violently. 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. The pilots were still in their seats, but were laying upside down in nearby trees. He was known as Papa Ronnie. Collins, 37, suffered respiratory failure, said a Memorial Medical Center spokeswoman. Bianca is a force to be reckoned with in the American film industry. The band has asked that fans wishing to remember Wilkeson do so through the Musician's Assistance Program, which assists musicians and industry professionals seeking treatment for addiction. Artimus Pyle and Gary Rossington are the only two members alive today from the crash. That farm belonged to a young dairy farmer named Johnny Mote. Cassie Gaines died on the 20 th of October, 1977 in a plane crash at Gillsburg, Mississippi when she was only 29 years old. Be the first to get hottest news from our Editor-in-Chief, Check your email and confirm your subscription. He drove down from his home in Oakland, Miss. Gary Rossington, one of the bands guitar players, had suffered two broken arms, a broken leg, a punctured stomach and liver. Any debris left on the ground has long been buried. Billy had taken too long on his intro to the song Free Bird and that didnt set well with Ronnie. One band member, JoJo Billingsly, was not on the flight. Turns out that Cassie didn't want to board that particular flight and had blatantly refused to travel on that plane. Laying on the ground, still alive for only a moment, to slowly bleed to death. In 1986, his car ran off a road and crashed into a culvert, paralyzing him from the waist down and killing his girlfriend. Everyone on the flight, except for Ronnie Van Zant, was feeling uneasy and restless. A few minutes later I was talking my way past a Mississippi State trooper. The single "What's Your Name" reached #13 on the single airplay charts in January of 1978. After claiming his deceased son, Lacy Van Zant went to visit the other members of the band at the hospital. He had been impaled by a part of the fuselage and it pushed through his body and projected out of his back. Rudge chartered three planes for loved ones to identify the bodies. The flight was going good so far and other than Ronnie getting severely intoxicated while on the flight, all seemed to be setting up to be another routine flight. I had not realized before, but he also was there that night. He obtained his first guitar at about age 14. Artimus Pyle, drummer for the band, stops for a quick picture while en route to the next show. A design that would most likely lead to the infamous crash. Van Zant, Steve and Cassie Gaines, Kilpatrick and the pilots were laid in a temporary morgue at a local high school gymnasium. Sit down. The plane had taken off with a faulty gasoline gauge that fooled the pilots into thinking that the plane was equipped with the appropriate amount of gas to reach their destination. Coincidence? Natural causes were to blame. Mote fired a warning shot in the air. It sounded great to us. They were directing him to the property next to his family's farm. As we talked, we heard a racket through the trees. The album had deeper meaning than most. From left to right: Allen Collins, Ronnie Van Zant, And Gary Rossington. 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. Deceased people hanging from trees, the other survivors moaning for help of any kind, and completely surrounded by a black swamp whose canopy is blocking the only light that is trying so desperately to shine through.
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