Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash

Chartered by the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from L & J Company of Addison, Texas, it was flying from Greenville, South Carolina, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, crashing near its destination.Early in the flight, witnesses recall that lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant was lying on the floor with a pillow, having been up most of the previous night and being in need of sleep.At some point the passengers became aware that something was wrong, and drummer Artimus Pyle recalled entering the flight deck and being told by the terrified captain, Walter McCreary, to go back and strap himself in.[8] Guitarist Gary Rossington recalled hearing what sounded like hundreds of baseball bats hitting the plane's fuselage as it began striking trees.[9] Cassie Gaines had been so fearful of flying in the Convair that she had preferred to travel in the band's cramped equipment truck instead, but Van Zant convinced her to board the plane on October 20.[11] Another member of the band's trio of back-up singers (collectively known as the "Honkettes"), JoJo Billingsley, was not on the plane as she was under a doctor's care in Senatobia, Mississippi, dealing with health problems brought about by substance abuse.Aerosmith's assistant chief of flight operations, Zunk Buker, told of observing pilots McCreary and Gray sharing a bottle of Jack Daniel's while he and his father inspected the plane."We were flying in a plane that looked like it belonged to the Clampett family," said Pyle, and the band had decided that their status as one of the world's top rock acts warranted an upgrade.[1] Pyle told Howard Stern years later in an interview that the fuel gauge in the older-model plane was known to malfunction and the pilots had neglected to check the tanks manually before taking off.[1] The report records the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as taking legal action against L & J Company in relation to the operator responsibility,[1] and the analysis section concludes by asking, "How does the system in such a case protect a lessee who is uninformed either by design, by inadvertence, or by his own carelessness?
Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1977
Amite County, MississippiGillsburgConvair CV-240Addison, TexasRegistrationGreenville Downtown AirportGreenville, South CarolinaMcComb-Pike County AirportPike County, MississippiBaton Rouge Metropolitan AirportBaton Rouge, LouisianaGreenvilleSouth CarolinaBaton RougeLouisianaMississippiLynyrd SkynyrdAddisonRonnie Van ZantSteve GainesCassie GainesCaptainFirst OfficerJohnnyStreet SurvivorsGreenville Memorial AuditoriumLouisiana State UniversityMcComb AirportAmite Countyemergency landingGillsburg, MississippiArtimus PyleGary RossingtonBilly PowellBehind the MusicautopsyJoJo BillingsleySenatobia, Mississippisubstance abuseLittle RockArkansasAllen CollinsEd KingAerosmithDraw the LineJack Daniel'sSteven TylerJoe PerryNazarethPete AgnewDan McCaffertyClampett familyLearjetCB radioNational Transportation Safety Boardignition magnetoHoward SternFederal Aviation Administrationiconographyblood oathEmbry-Riddle Aeronautical UniversityYouTubeHarperCollinsRickey MedlockeJohnny Van ZantMichael CartelloneMark MatejkaPeter KeysBob BurnsLarry JunstromGreg T. WalkerLeon WilkesonOwen HaleHughie ThomassonKenny AronoffEan EvansRobert KearnsJohnny Colt(Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd)Second HelpingNuthin' FancyGimme Back My BulletsLynyrd Skynyrd 1991The Last RebelEndangered SpeciesTwentyEdge of ForeverChristmas Time AgainVicious CycleGod & GunsLast of a Dyin' BreedOne More from the RoadSouthern by the Grace of GodLyve from Steel TownLive from Freedom HallSkynyrd's First and... LastGold & PlatinumBest of the RestLegendSkynyrd's InnyrdsA RetrospectiveWhat's Your NameOld Time GreatsThe Essential Lynyrd SkynyrdSkynyrd's First: The Complete Muscle Shoals AlbumSolo FlytesAll Time Greatest HitsCollectyblesThen and NowThen and Now Volume TwoGreatest HitsFreebird... The MovieGimme Three StepsMr. BankerDon't Ask Me No QuestionsSweet Home AlabamaFree BirdSaturday Night SpecialDouble TroubleThat SmellTruck Drivin' ManYou Got That RightPreacher ManRed White & BlueNeed All My FriendsTuesday's GoneSimple ManStreet Survivors TourLynyrd Skynyrd Tribute TourLynyrd Skynyrd 1991 TourEdge of Forever TourThe Last of the Street Survivors Farewell TourRossington Collins BandThe Rossington BandAllen Collins BandArtimus Pyle BandVan ZantDiscographyMembersSkynyrd FryndsRonnie Van Zant Memorial ParkLeonard SkinnerAll Summer LongAviation accidents and incidentsConnellan air disasterAeroflot Flight 3843Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1045Linjeflyg Flight 618Aeroflot Flight 5003British Airtours Boeing 707 crashTenerife airport disasterSouthern Airways Flight 242Delta Air Lines Flight 1080Tavda mid-air collisionIsraeli CH-53 crashDan-Air Boeing 707 crashAeroflot Flight 331Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-134 hijackingAeroflot Flight B-2Encino helicopter crashMalév Flight 203Japan Air Lines Flight 715Yokohama F-4 crashJapan Air Lines Flight 472Lufthansa Flight 181TAP Flight 425Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 9Libyan Arab Airlines Tu-154 crashMalaysian Airline System Flight 653Air Indiana Flight 216United Airlines Flight 2860SA de Transport Aérien Flight 730Vieques Air Link crashCornfield BomberEastern Air Lines Shuttle Flight 1320ALM Flight 980Trans International Airlines Flight 863Wichita State University football team plane crashSouthern Airways Flight 932Capitol International Airways Flight C2C3/26B-52C Lake Michigan crashColorado Aviation Aero Commander 680 crashHughes Airwest Flight 706Allegheny Airlines Flight 485Pan Am Flight 845Alaska Airlines Flight 1866D. B. CooperMohawk Airlines Flight 405Delta Air Lines Flight 9570American Airlines Flight 96Prinair Flight 191Lake Winnebago mid-air collisionPacific Southwest Airlines Flight 710Delta Air Lines Flight 841Sacramento Canadair Sabre accidentSouthern Airways Flight 49United Air Lines Flight 553Chicago–O'Hare runway collisionEastern Air Lines Flight 401Puerto Rico DC-7 crashDeKalb–Peachtree Airport Learjet crashOzark Air Lines Flight 809Delta Air Lines Flight 723TWA Flight 742World Airways Flight 802Texas International Airlines Flight 655Pan Am Flight 160National Airlines Flight 27Iberia Flight 933Commonwealth Commuter Flight 317Pan Am Flight 806Delta Air Lines Flight 523Eastern Air Lines Flight 212TWA Flight 514Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 6231Golden West Airlines Flight 261Eastern Air Lines Flight 66Wien Air Alaska Flight 99Overseas National Airways Flight 032Alaska Airlines Flight 60American Airlines Flight 625Air Manila Flight 702TWA Flight 355Continental Airlines Flight 603United Airlines Flight 696National Airlines Flight 193Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182Air Caribbean Flight 309Rocky Mountain Airways Flight 217TWA Flight 541United Airlines Flight 173TWA Flight 841American Airlines Flight 191Downeast Airlines Flight 46Air New England Flight 248American Airlines Flight 293American Airlines Flight 444Flying Tiger Line Flight 45United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands