Cassie Gaines Lynard Skynyrd plane crash was one of the band's most challenging moments. The location sounded familiar so he asked them to repeat. My college roommate was a young photojournalist. 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. Cassie Gaines Birthday and Date of Death. Ronnie had died instantly upon impact, his head slamming into a tree. Some blame it on the planes age and poor design, weighing in on its smaller fuselage and compact wingspan. Gene Odom, Lynyrd Skynyrds bodyguard, recalls: They took my watch, my wallet, my ring, and my money as I lay bleeding on the ground. She performed as a backup singer in popular hits such as One More Time and That Smell. In addition to his fractured ribcage, Artimus Pyle was treated for numerous abrasions and contusions. 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. Headline from a local newspaper reporting the crash. He smiled broadly and said, "Turn it up! The Vintage News Aerosmith Said No, Lynyrd Skynyrd Said Yes To The Plane. The aircraft crashed in a heavily wooded area during an attempted emergency landing. The tree where the cockpit came to rest has long-since died. "From there, we followed the lights of the helicopter," he said. 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. And it left Teresa Gaines a widow. The news was shocking -- a plane crash near my hometown of McComb, Miss. He also knew I had no business there, but his face told me he knew I was beginning a new career that night. Cassie was buried in Orange Park, Florida, together with her brother, Steve Gains. He could hear the people moaning, pleading for help. "It was stuff I'd been trained to do," he said. From left to right: Allen Collins, Ronnie Van Zant, And Gary Rossington. Dwain Easley still lives on the east side of the crash site. But soon, the helicopters that were heard and seen previously were on the scene. Wilkeson would play in both Rossington Collins Band and the Allen Collins band. Steve Gaines was killed instantly upon impact and his sister Cassie Gaines perished as well. Dean Kilpatrick, the bands manager, lay dead and covered in blood. I was just taken aback by it " but then his friend continued, "don't worry, Lynyrd made it out.". It would take hours to remove the bodies of the dead and injured from the plane. The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. He was known as Papa Ronnie. 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. Allen's wife would bleed to death due to a miscarriage. All of the seats were ripped from the frame of the plane, landing in the front section of the crash. He lifted one after another and shuffled them to others outside. "They'd busted bales of hay in the bed to soften the ride," he said. Almost four decades later, I noticed a seemingly innocuous post on Facebook. The official cause of death will be announced after toxicology test results come back in two to three weeks. He obtained his first guitar at about age 14. "I knew she was gone. "Why, yes I do," I said, thinking about my roots, my old buddies and the high school dances. ", "And everybody says they were the first one there. Photo credits Airplane-Pictures.net. ", "There were plenty of old boys standing around here. They all died but we didnt. Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. 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. A plane crash left lead singer Ronnie Van Zandt, lead guitarist Steve Gaines and backup singer Cassie Gaines dead. As the small band of brothers grew, the conversation grew lively but stayed reverent. 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. A costly mistake at 9,000ft or so. Was there a guest book?". I photographed their wedding. Photo: Pinterest. It sounded great to us. The pilots were still in their seats, but were laying upside down in nearby trees. 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. The band leased a new Convair CV-240 to help them get between shows easier. A design that would most likely lead to the infamous crash. 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. Photo: Pinterest. Everyone knows him as "Governor." He then assembled a convoy of trucks and four-wheelers to locate the crash site and rescue the survivors. He was more in the image I was pre-visualizing - one of an aging rocker. The whole scene tore him apart. The two men, for a while, were the only able-bodied persons present to help pull people from the wreckage. One band member, JoJo Billingsly, was not on the flight. It felt like being hit with baseball bats in a steel garbage can with the lid on. Then on the other side, it was Allen in the middle of Dean and Cassie. Artimus has had many ups and downs since then, several incarcerations, and a huge falling out with Gary. In a separate interview, revealing the story of sound man Paul Welch who suffered traumatic injuries in this crash and was sent into a coma, shares that the plane that was utilized during this trip was already catching fire around the engine area and Lynyrd Skynyrd had requested to cease using it. I had not realized before, but he also was there that night. ", "I expected to see all dead people looking at these woods. Gary Rossington, one of the bands guitar players, had suffered two broken arms, a broken leg, a punctured stomach and liver. The album cover depicted the band members in an alleyway covered in flames. Gabel says he's been to the site 15 or more times. 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. She was hesitant because she had seen a small fire in one of the engines the previous day. Thats when most of the sober members of the band saw that the right propeller was no longer working. The will to carry on was strong, however, Pyle being a US Marine, would live out the phrase Semper Fidelis which means always faithful. Other band members were injured, some very seriously. Cassie Gaines was one of the band members who boarded the ill-fated flight. Artimus Pyle and Gary Rossington are the only two members alive today from the crash. I told him that it was the strongest thing I had seen a man do.. Be the first to get hottest news from our Editor-in-Chief, Check your email and confirm your subscription. A tragic scene no person would ever wish to see or soon forget. Marc Frank was beaten terribly and was also covered in lacerations and blood. Three crew members died in a plane crash just three days after the release of their 5th album. Artimus Pyle emerged with several broken ribs, and bleeding everywhere you could. Suffocating the people on the bottom from the sheer weight. The band regularly has different people sit in and play shows with them like Warren Haynes and Dicky Betts. Even though she survived the actual crash, she eventually bled to death before the rescue team could reach her. He suffered a heart attack . he said, barely able to get his English to suit his thoughts. All of the seats were ripped from the frame of the plane, landing in the front section of the crash. The plane finally slammed into the earth, and Billy Powell recalls saying, We hit the trees at approximately 90 mph. Cassie Gaines died on the 20 th of October, 1977 in a plane crash at Gillsburg, Mississippi when she was only 29 years old. There were 26 people on that fateful flight. Billy Powell would be in the new starting line-up of Lynyrd Skynyrd until his death in 2009. After the death of three of their members, the band decided to change the cover photo of the album, which initially featured a picture of the band engulfed in flames. Photo: obviousmag.org. 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. Everyone on the flight, except for Ronnie Van Zant, was feeling uneasy and restless. Gary continues on the band with Ronnies brother, Johnny Van Zant, and guitarist Ricky Medlocke. The single "What's Your Name" reached #13 on the single airplay charts in January of 1978. "Folks were all mashed together. The talented singer met her death at the young age of 29. That farm belonged to a young dairy farmer named Johnny Mote. 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. The accident essentially destroyed one of the unique voices of American rock and roll. A little after an hour of trudging through a creek and at one point burrowing underneath a barbed wire fence they found themselves staring at a small, dim light in the distance. With my camera at the ready, the translator and I stood watch on the prow of the brightly colored wooden boat as we plowed the exotic coastline. In the ensuing chaos, souvenir hunters took billfolds, jewelry, suitcases, band merchandise and even chunks of metal from the crash site. Both brother and sister were killed in the airplane crash that also took the life of Lynyrd Skynyrd vocalist Ronnie Van Zant. A Convair CV-240. Losing daylight, the pilots desperately looked for an open field or some kind of saving grace. Collins and other band members were severely injured. 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. Without wanting to cause alarm he thought to himself that maybe the pilots were trying to transfer fuel from one engine to another. Don't look like they can afford a ticket. His first band recorded its debut at Sun Recording Studio in Memphis, and later bands included RIO Smokehouse and Rusty Day. Soon after the plane would begin to jerk and shake violently. 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. He then assembled a convoy of trucks and four-wheelers to locate the crash site and rescue the survivors. 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. I quickly maneuvered free of a crumpled bumper and sped off. Organize, control, distribute and measure all of your digital content. After a shorter-than-normal day of bow hunting, he received a phone call about a plane crash in the area. He was known as Papa Ronnie. We were shocked, as were most others hearing the news. The two men, for a while, were the only able-bodied persons present to help pull people from the wreckage. By then, a Coast Guard helicopter was hovering overhead. All reality had been broken and none of the surviving members would ever be the same or view life the same again. 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. Van Zant himself "loathed flying," as Rolling Stone. He had been impaled by a part of the fuselage and it pushed through his body and projected out of his back. "He didn't want to talk about it for years.". 2023 Getty Images. A medical examiner said on Sunday that Wilkeson suffered from chronic liver and lung disease, and most likely died of natural causes. (Photo by Ted Jackson). But not all had the intentions of lending a helping hand. But we were both enjoying it. 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. Artimus Pyle, drummer for the band, stops for a quick picture while en route to the next show. 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 used my camera in my work. Billy had taken too long on his intro to the song Free Bird and that didnt set well with Ronnie. Contributing to the fuel exhaustion were inadequate flight planning and an engine malfunction of undetermined nature in the engine which resulted in higher than normal fuel consumption.". All the surrounding land is privately owned and prominently marked with "No Trespassing" signs. Allen Collins, who lost fellow members of the rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd in a 1977 plane crash and was paralyzed four years ago in a drunken driving accident, died Tuesday of pneumonia. He was best known for being a Rock Singer. The pilot and co-pilot also died; 20 others aboard lived. Ben Gabel, of Denham Springs, is a former surveyor, and navigated to the scene from the official NTSB report, which includes the latitude and longitude. Allen Collins suffered two cracked vertebrae in his neck, and both Collins and Leon Wilkeson nearly had arms amputated as a result of crash injuries. Powells nose had been nearly ripped from his face after crashing head first through a table. But there wasn't any gas on the ground because they ran out of gas.". Collect, curate and comment on your files. Born Steven Earl Gaines, the son of Cassie Hatfield and Earl Gaines. The band has been on tour, and dates through the weekend have been cancelled. The reason behind this? Artimus Pyle was also notoriously outspoken against the plane and on several occasions would take buses to shows. Laying on the ground, still alive for only a moment, to slowly bleed to death. Laying on the ground, still alive for only a moment, to slowly bleed to death. 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. Boards are the best place to save images and video clips. Original cover for Street Survivors, 1977Notably, the third member of The Honkettes, JoJo Billingsley, was not on the plane and in fact was home tending to a family member's illness. Lynyrd Skynyrd is a FANDOM Music Community. News had spread about the crash and before too long an estimated 3,000 people had swarmed to the crash site. It felt like being hit with baseball bats in a steel garbage can with the lid on. Laying on the ground, still alive for only a moment, to slowly bleed to death. The plane killed three band members (Ronnie Van Zant, Cassie, Steve Gaines) and Dean Kilpatrick (assistant road manager), Walter McCreary (pilot), and William Gray (co-pilot). Their lyrics were raw and fresh - honest and simple. Cassie Gaines was born on January 9, 1948 and died on October 20, 1977. A Convair CV-240, similar to the one in the crash. Where Did We Find This Stuff? Check your inbox to be the first to know the hottest news. Medical personnel arrived and began to ferry out the injured and the dead. His wife, Lola, and my wife grew up together. 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. Toxicology tests were also ordered to determine whether there were drugs in his system at the time. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Small and cramped, it still felt better than lift-off of the Convair CV-240. I grabbed my camera and jumped in the car. Bianca is a force to be reckoned with in the American film industry. I knew I had no business going, and my wife told me so. Lynyrd Skynyrd pose for a portrait circa 1976. 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. Photo: Pinterest. In an interview in the book Walk This Way, Aerosmith's assistant chief of flight operations Zunk Buker tells of seeing pilots McCreary and Gray trading a bottle of Jack Daniels back and forth while Buker and his father were inspecting the plane. Its many hit songs include "Freebird," "Sweet Home Alabama," "Gimme Three Steps" and "Simple Man.". Coincidence? 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. In 1975, his sister, Cassie, whose group had been hired to sing back. I was not there to be a gawker or to get in the way. Band confidant, Gene Odum, is privately interviewed to share his story on what happened on this awful day in history. A tragic scene no person would ever wish to see or soon forget. The aircraft was destroyed by impact; there was no fire. Among them were Lacy Van Zant, Ronnies Father, and .38 Specials Guitarist Dan Barnes. Laying on the ground, still alive for only a moment, to slowly bleed to death. We always wondered why, you know. The surviving members would grapple with this throughout their days. Ronnies mother Marion refused to make the flight, after seeing a horrific plane crash of her own that killed 9 people. 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. A costly mistake at 9,000ft or so. But a message on the group's official Web site said the summer tour will resume on Aug. 7, in Spokane, Wash. When he was sober, he was a fair and kind person. It is reported that the pilots whose eyes were full of terror, told them to go back to their seats and prepare for impact. With a newly-released album, "Street Survivors," they were flying from a concert in Greenville, S.C. to the next night's show at LSU in Baton Rouge in a substandard charter plane. Van Zant, Steve and Cassie Gaines, Kilpatrick and the pilots were laid in a temporary morgue at a local high school gymnasium. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. After I led him to the downtown McComb offices, I returned home, developed my film in a clumsy bathroom darkroom and went to sleep. 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. Collins, 37, suffered respiratory failure, said a Memorial Medical Center spokeswoman. Violent, wild, and belligerent, Ronnie was a force to be reckoned with. However, it is believed that the pilots were trying to transfer oil from one engine to another when they accidentally jettisoned the fuel instead. She was famous for being part of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. Willing to lend a hand and stick by his bandmates, he was hard to beat when standing by your side. Van Zant, Steve and Cassie Gaines, Kilpatrick and the pilots were laid in a temporary morgue at a local high school gymnasium. That now legendary and near-mythical plane crash killed Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, Honkettes backup singer Cassie Gaines, assistant tour manager Dean Kilpatrick and the pilot and co-p For another crash scene veteran, this was also his first return visit in 38 years. One band member, JoJo Billingsly, was not on the flight. Gary continues on the band with Ronnies brother, Johnny Van Zant, and guitarist Ricky Medlocke. Tremendous physical pain overwhelmed the group as did mental exhaustion. An old high school friend, Bobby McDaniel, posted a photo and a comment about a name-carved tree from the crash site. But soon, the helicopters that were heard and seen previously were on the scene. I would like to think that only one grave robber was involved, but so many items were missing that I have to believe otherwise. It was as if they were back in Noahs time and all but a select few were stricken with greed of mankind and the chance to capitalize on an easy opportunity. The plane had completely disintegrated. The band would be marked for strife as just before their inaugural tour, Allens wife would bleed to death due to a miscarriage. He later caused a controversy by giving a lurid account of Cassie Gaines' final moments on a VH1 Behind The Music special about the band, claiming that the backing singer's throat was cut from ear to ear and that she bled to death in his arms.
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