Over the next decade, the band remained in limbo even as their records continued to sell. But"instead of panicking," said Powell, "everybody was sitting there praying." Forty years ago, a plane attempting to make an emergency landing ran out of fuel and crashed into a wooded stretch of countryside just outside the small town of Gillsburg . Pyle, along with his sons, and his Artimus Pyle Band (created in 2010 to honor Lynyrd Skynyrd), wrote the music for the soundtrack. After making the 600-mile trip from Greenville to Baton Rouge, where they were due to play the following night at Louisiana State University, Lynyrd Skynyrd planned to acquire a Learjet, the. As they neared the latter part of the flight, the Convair CV-240 ran out of fuel. A quick apology later, Van Zant, Burns and Rossington were noodling around with their instruments, and decided to form a band. "[1], The band's record label MCA replaced the album cover of the Street Survivors album, as it showed the band surrounded by flames. Fans gathered Sunday as the Mississippi Department of Transportation unveiled exit signs from Interstate 55 near . Tragedy struck again: Collins' wife Kathy died of a hemorrhage when she suffered a miscarriage while he was on the inaugural Rossington Collins Band tour in 1980. The Phoenix Rises. While his road to recuperation mightve been the longest, the guitarist has also made the most of his second musical chance: He co-founded the Rossington Collins Band, and later the Rossington Band with his wife Dale-Krantz Rossington, then became the driving force behind Lynyrd Skynyrd's reunion and, eventually, its final remaining original member. Pyle remembers everything, including his last interaction with Van Zant. By 1987, it seemed solidified: The late Van Zant was replaced by brother Johnny, while Rossington, Pyle, Powell, and Wilkeson resumed their former duties. April 4, 2015 / 3:09 PM / CBS/AP. There was some discussion as to whether it might have been a ricochet shot. We landed in Mississippi pine trees, three feet thick. The response was, "I am sorry, it's just an indication of it." According to Time, the band's families were especially affected by the photograph and asked MCA Records to replace it. The plane ran out of fuel near the end of the flight.[2][6]. And for a musician, that means being on the road. Thomas Delmer " Artimus " Pyle (born July 15, 1948) is an American musician who played drums with the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1974 to 1977 and from 1987 to 1991. A couple of years later, however, Pyle had to bow out of the Rossington Collins Band after a motorcycle accident left his leg broken in 20 places. The last time we spend with the fictional Pyle, he's getting screwed over by Skynyrd's manager on contracts and medical bills, which is a slightly weird way to end a movie. The Control Center next granted McCreary's request to land at McComb Airport in Mississippi. A short time after that Neil paid tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd on stage by playing a medley of his own song, and . Survivors of the crash have pressed on, but the band ceased to exist on Oct. 20, 1977. On October 20, 1977, a plane crashed in a heavily wooded area of southeastern Mississippi. I know the farmer was only protecting his family, Pyle says. [1] The flight crew were employed by a third party,[1] and the lease period was three weeks. And thats the last time I saw Ronnie., ATLANTA - JULY 10: Singer Ronnie Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd - interviewed in his Atlanta hotel room [+] on July 10, 1976 in Atlanta, Georgia. Soon they added guitarist Allen Collins and bass player Larry Jungstrom. [9], Keyboard player Billy Powell's nose was nearly torn off in the crash as he suffered severe facial lacerations and deep lacerations to his right leg. The band reunited in Nashville in January 1979 for the first time since the tragedy, making an appearance at Charlie Daniels' annual Volunteer Jam. All Rights Reserved. [19] The site of the crash has become a memorial for fans, rescuers and survivors, with an oak tree that has been carved with Lynyrd Skynyrd iconography, while the site was also the location of a fortieth anniversary memorial by survivors and rescuers. He was 37. Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. Cox had conducted a detailed investigation of the Watergate break-in that revealed that read more, On October 20, 1962, the White House press corps is told that President John F. Kennedy has a cold; in reality, he is holding secret meetings with advisors on the eve of ordering a blockade of Cuba. In the mid-1960s the nucleus of what would become one of the most popular southern boogie bands of the 1970s, Lynyrd Skynyrd, were students at Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville, Florida.Impressed by the sounds of the Yardbirds and Blues Magoos, buddies . He came out of the house, and I looked like Charles Manson all covered in blood, with my long hair and beard. Growing up, all I knew of Southern Rock was Lynyrd Skynyrd, and I feel like visiting the site is kind of a rite of passage.. Street Survivors: The True . A film about the 1977 plane crash that killed the lead singer of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ronnie Van Zant, and five others may finally see the light of day after a federal appeals court . Friday marks the 40th anniversary of one of classic rock music's greatest tragedies the crash of the plane carrying the Southern band Lynyrd Skynyrd. M ary Thornton, a critical care nurse at Southwest Mississippi Regional hospital in McComb . Although the crash remains now and forever the darkest centerpiece in Lynyrd Skynyrds legend as well as a breeding ground for gruesome urban legends surrounding the demise of various members fans know quite well its far from the first or last tragedy the definitive Southern rockers endured. [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. Johnny Van Zant (pictured), the younger brother of Ronnie, stepped up as lead singer. Joining them was a former guitarist for the group, Ed King. On Oct. 20, 1977, a chartered Convair CV-240 plane carrying Lynyrd Skynyrd in the midst of a headlining tour and having released their fifth album, Street Survivors, three days prior . So, when he shot me. He says its interesting to note that Ronnie Van Zant knew he only had a short time on this earth, but was determined to make it count. He was injured in the October 1977 plane crash that took the lives of five people, among them founding member and vocalist Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines. Lynyrd Skynyrd Bassist Wilkeson Found Dead By Vinny Marino July 30, 2001 -- Leon Wilkeson, bass player and founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, is dead at age 49. But just two years after the plane crash, Lynyrd Skynyrd would once again take the stage for the first time since their plane crash - and for the first time without their lead singer. The subsequent report by the NTSB listed "an engine malfunction of undetermined nature" in that same engine as a contributing factor in the crash. Guitarist Gary Rossington is the only member left from the band's heyday. In the summer of 1977, members of the rock band Aerosmith inspected an airplane they were considering chartering for their upcoming toura Convair 240 operated out of Addison, Texas. Historical archives and interviews. [+] (Band includes Artimus Pyle, Scott Raines-guitar/vocals; Jerry Lyda-guitar; Brad Durden-keys/vocals; and Dave Fowler-bass). Nearby is a metal stand with neon lights, honoring those who died so long ago. He yelled stop, I saw the gun. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. [21], A Convair CV-240 similar to the accident aircraft, If I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film About Lynyrd Skynyrd, Passion Pictures, Directed by Stephen Kijak, 2018, The Ray Shasho Show, BBS Radio 1 Network, 2016, Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash, List of music group fatalities from aviation accidents, "Aircraft Accident Report L & J Company, Convair 248, N55VM, Gillsburg, Mississippi, October 20, 1977", "Aircraft accident Convair CV-240 N55VM Gillsburg, MS", "Rock band leader, five others killed in charter plane crash", "Airplane crash kills members of rock band", "The Tragic Plane Crash that Happened on October 20, 1977 in Gillsburg Mississippi", "The night Lynyrd Skynyrd fell from the sky", "JoJo Billingsley Lynyrd Skynyrd Alias", "Lynyrd Skynyrd's Plane Crashes in Rural Mississippi", "Remembering Lynyrd Skynyrd's Deadly 1977 Plane Crash", "Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash was 35 years ago", "The legacy of Lynyrd Skynyrd, 40 years after plane crash tragedy", "Lynyrd Skynyrd Members Head to Trial Over Plane Crash Movie", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lynyrd_Skynyrd_plane_crash&oldid=1142706015, This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 23:12. A spokesperson for the band's record label said Wilkeson died in his sleep Friday at a hotel near Jacksonville, Florida. On October 20, 1977, an aircraft crashed during a performance at the South Carolina venue Greenville Memorial Auditorium. The farmer would later deny shooting Pyle. More recently, his involvement in a proposed biopic called Street Survivor: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash led to new legal issues. "I remember hearing Leon screaming, 'Get me out of here,'" he said. Just a few miles from their destination, the plane, short on . The 1977 crash changed the course of rock & roll history. Wilkeson was subsequently found dead in a hotel room July 27, 2001, at the age of 49. Guitarist and vocalist Steve Gaines was in the center, standing with his eyes closed, mouth open. Inside, the cabin seats were torn apart as the plane continued on its path. It would take awhile for news of the crash to reach the media. [17], Rescuers had to cross a 20-foot-wide (6 m), waist-deep creek and dig through an overgrown forest, while digging out rescue vehicles that got stuck in the mud. And then he went forward. Lynyrd Skynyrd put the "Y"s in their name in reference to The Byrds. Pyle is still alive but has not been part of the bands roster since 1991. After nearly a full decade of work, the southern rock forefathers had finally put together a lineup that was ready to take over popular music. The band itself, with three of its members gone, wouldnt perform for the next 10 years, until Ronnies brother, Johnny, took on the role of lead singer. Fri 20th Mar 2020 17.41 GMT. For music history buffs, the name Lynyrd Skynyrd instantly conjures up the day in 1977 when three band members, including founder Ronnie Van Zant, died in a plane crash in the woods of Mississippi. People really identify with Simple Man, Freebird, Sweet Home Alabama, Tuesdays Gone, Gimme Three Steps. Its a phenomena for these songs to be this powerful 45 years after that plane crash.. Today, black granite walls mark the spot where the plane went down. [7], In 2017, surviving members of the band and family of those who died in the crash filed a lawsuit to block production and distribution of a film entitled Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash. Everyone listened anxiously as officials worked to identify and release the names of those killed. Today, in the deep woods near Gillsburg, the crash site of one of America's most famous southern rock bands remains quiet. Director Jared Cohn Writer Jared Cohn Stars Artimus Pyle Taylor Clift Ian Shultis See production, box office & company info Watch on Tubi Go to tubitv.com '", There was no help for pilots McCreary and Gray, band members Cassie Gaines, Steve Gaines and Ronnie Van Zant, or assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick. The planes crew, whom the National Transportation Safety Board would hold responsible for the mishap in the accident report issued eight months later, radioed Houston air-traffic control as the plane lost altitude, asking for directions to the nearest airfield. The words "FREE BIRD" and several names and messages are carved into trees at the site. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. A new documentary film that chronicles the plane crash that killed several members of Lynyrd Skynyrd in October of 1977 is set for release. As a last resort, they attempted an emergency landing in an open field about 300yd (270m) from where the plane eventually went down. Wilkerson was found dead in his hotel room in 2001. In fact, Lynyrd Skynyrd have managed to earn the dubious distinction of unluckiest band in history over the years. This Oct. 20, 1977, file photo shows the wreckage of a plane in a wooded area near McComb, Mississippi, where six people were killed, including three members of the music group Lynyrd. We're dipping into the Far Out Magazine vault to bring you a touching moment saw Neil Young takes on Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'Sweet Home Alabama' after their tragic plane crash in 1977. Some elements of Powell's version of the events, however, have been disputed by both drummer Pyle and Van Zant's widow Judy Van Zant Jenness, who posted the autopsy reports on the band's web site in early 1998, while confirming other aspects of Powell's account. The plane eventually leveled out at 12,000 feet and after several minutes, the fire extinguished. In reporting on the event, the Clarion Ledger said any leftover money would be given to the living survivors of the wreck to help with their ongoing medical expenses. The cockpit smashed into a tree, killing McCreary and Gray,and the fuselage became separated. I think thats proof of great music, when it surpasses the generation youre writing it for, and lives beyond it.. Collins, who was charged with manslaughter for Wattss death, took the position of musical director of the group and, as part of his plea bargain, addressed the bands audience every night on tour from his wheelchair on the dangers of drunk driving. Powell was 56. At some point the passengers became aware that something was wrong, and drummer Artimus Pyle recalls entering the flight deck and being told by the terrified captain, Walter McCreary, to go back and strap himself in. Although I like Lynyrd Skynyrd very much, this film is clearly made to show the importance of Artimus Pyle in the band - including pointing out that he was the one who got help to save the survivors of the plane crash. Lynyrd Skynyrd chartered the plane. Were low on fuel and were just about out of it, the pilot told Houston Center at approximately 6:42 pm. JACKSON, Miss. [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. Many dealt with their own demons in the wake of the disaster. 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.[3][4]. Wilkeson died in 2001 of chronic liver and lung disease; he was only 49. Contributing to the fuel exhaustion were inadequate flight planning and an engine malfunction of undetermined nature in the right engine that resulted in "torching" and higher-than-normal fuel consumption. The band was still touring, though, and released theLynyrd Skynyrd: Last of the Street Survivors Farewell Tour Lyve! One of the Aerosmith's crew later recalled that pilots Walter McCreary and William Gray shared a bottle of Jack Daniels as the plane was inspected for that band. With the gravity of the situation clear, the passengers sat in silence, some praying. It traveled a total of 495 feet after hitting the first tree. It was ridiculous for us to be on an old plane like that.". Fast forward to August 2018 when Gary Rossington appeared and narrated part ofa documentary, Lynyrd Skynyrd: If I Leave Here Tomorrowdebuted on Showtime. Five surviving band members Allen Collins, Billy Powell, Gary Rossington, Leon Wilkerson, and Artimus Pyle suffered critical injuries, from multiple broken bones to debilitating internal injuries. Thats something I think about as a songwriter. Lynyrd Skynyrd is a Southern rock band from Jacksonville, Florida.Formed in 1964, the group originally included vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, guitarists Gary Rossington and Allen Collins, bassist Larry Junstrom and drummer Bob Burns.The current lineup features Rossington, guitarist and vocalist Rickey Medlocke (from 1971 to 1972, and since 1996), lead vocalist Johnny Van Zant (since 1987), drummer . Selected discography. Home. album in November of that year. >>. Twenty musicians (not counting backup singers) have been in Skynyrd since the crash. According to writer Jaan Uhelski, Lynyrd Skynyrd's beginnings date clear back to 1964 at a ball field in Florida, where Van Zant inadvertently smacked a ball right at Bob Burns and knocked him out. The farmer then rushed to assist Pyle and get help back to the crash site. The $80 million structure, designed by Danish architect Jrn Utzon and funded by the profits of the Opera House Lotteries, was built on Bennelong Point, in Sydney, read more, Just over a year after the start of the Long March, Mao Zedong arrives in Shensi Province in northwest China with 4,000 survivors and sets up Chinese Communist headquarters. Lynyrd Skynyrd, a Southern rock institution that . Here are their stories. The album cover featured the entire band(except for their background singers) standing together. The movie is bad. Artimus Pyle,a pilot himself, told everyone how to prepare for the inevitable crash. Dolly Parton will be singing Freebird, Pyle says with excitment, and Sammy Hagar will be doing Simple Man.. He was on a break from Lynyrd Skynyrd's regular touring schedule in 2009 when he suffered a heart attack. Burns happened to be a drummer and was a friend of guitarist Gary Rossington. People were hollerin' and screamin', and I've never witnessed anything before in my life like that." Then, something tore through my arm, and I yelled, Plane Crash! with what I thought was my last breath.. The wings were torn off along the crash path. Along the way, he earned generations of new admirers through sturdy live interpretations "Free Bird," "Tuesday's Gone," "What's Your Name" and "Sweet Home Alabama," all of which featured notable contributions from Powell. Record label MCA scrambled to replace Skynyrds Street Survivors album cover, which eerily forecast the accident by depicting the band members engulfed in flames. One of the biggest rock bands of all time, Lynyrd Skynyrd made history in the 70s with amazing albums that gave us great tunes like "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird" that became rock anthems. He later returned to music as leader of the Artimus Pyle Band before reconvening with Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1987 until the early '90s. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. This year, Lynyrd Skynyrd sued him over his plans to make a Skynyrd biopic initially called Free Bird, until a cease-and-desist order forced a title change to Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash. He didn't want to get on that plane. Billy Powells nose was nearly sliced off completely in the crash; he also suffered a right knee injury. But for those who knew the band's story and their growing rise to fame, that day was one of the most tragic in rock history. Unable to perform, Collins served as musical director for the Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Tour, which kicked off some 20 years after the crash in 1987. More than four decades after he survived the crash that took the lives of three of his fellow Lynyrd Skynyrd bandmates, including lead singer, Ronnie Van Zant, Artimus Pyle still feels the loss. Killed in the Oct. 20, 1977 crash were . The total dead is five. According to a 1977 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Powell said, "I crashed into a table; people were hit by flying objects all over the plane." It was a bit eerie, to say the least. Lynyrd Skynyrd's Artimus Pyle Honors Bandmates 45 Years After Tragic Plane Crash. Recommended. On October 20, 1977, however, during a flight from Greenville, South Carolina, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Lynyrd Skynyrds tour plane crashed in a heavily wooded area of southwesternMississippi during a failed emergency landing attempt, killing band-members Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines as well as the bands assistant road manager and the planes pilot and co-pilot. He had been dealing with liver and lung disease, and a combination of the two seems to have played a role. Pyle says the Street Survivors film accurately depicts the events of October 20th, although due to budget constraints producers werent able able to secure the exact type of plane that crashed. Together, the new band began working on new songs. On October 20, 1977, the passenger plane carrying Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd crashed while on tour, killing lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, backing vocalist Cassie . A couple years later, the guitarist got together with fellow Skynyrd member and guitarist Gary Rossington to form the Rossington Collins Band. He was right about both. Courtesy of Artimus Pyle It was 44 years ago last month that a Convair CV-240 passenger plane with members of the Lynyrd. Auditorium on January 30, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. The one-car accident killed his passenger, girlfriend Debra Watts. The sounds he heard were the plane hitting the trees, some as high as 80 feet tall. The eccentric 69-year-old dictator, who came to power in a 1969 coup, headed a government that was accused of read more, After advancing island by island across the Pacific Ocean, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur wades ashore onto the Philippine island of Leyte, fulfilling his promise to return to the area he was forced to flee in 1942. In a look back at the incident in 2017,Rolling Stone magazine reportedthe other 14 survivors "endured shattered bones, torn flesh, lengthy hospitalizations and grueling rehabilitations.". Ronnie went to the back of the plane, and I remember thinking to myself, thats a good idea. Two and-a-half hours later, however, McCreary radioed the Air Traffic Control Center in Houston that "we're low on fuel and we're just about out of it.". A U.S. district judge halted production permanently, finding Pyle in violation of a 1987 consent order which prohibits anyone from participating in a band-related project without the participation of at least three surviving members from Lynyrd Skynyrd's pre-crash era. Collins lost that fight, succumbing to respiratory failure on Jan. 23, 1990 almost four years to the day after his crippling car accident. Civil read more, On October 20, 1947, the notorious Red Scare kicks into high gear in Washington, as a Congressional committee begins investigating Communist influence in one of the worlds richest and most glamorous communities: Hollywood. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images). (AP) Lynyrd Skynyrd, the rock band famous for "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird," now has highway signs pointing to the site of the Mississippi plane crash that claimed the lives of some of its members. Several other passengers passed the time by playing cards. When I walked to the other side of the plane, I tripped on another person. On October 20, 1973, solicitor General Robert Bork dismisses Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox; Attorney General Richardson and Deputy Attorney General Ruckelshaus resign in protest. The site has drawn visitors over the years. [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. A 31-year-old woman in Collins' car died . The aircraft in question was instead chartered by the band Lynyrd Skynyrd, who were just setting out that autumn on a national tour that promised to be their biggest to date. The band had planned on acquiring a Learjet after arriving in Baton Rouge, to replace the 30-year-old plane, which all in the band's circle agreed was well past its prime. I wanted Lynyrd Skynyrd fans to know what we went through that fateful day and night. The band that was Lynyrd Skynyrd (pictured here in 1977 before the tour)had gone from playing cards while Van Zant napped on the floor, to fearing for their lives. The album eventually became the band's second platinum album. More than four decades after he survived the crash that took the lives of three of his fellow Lynyrd Skynyrd bandmates, including lead singer, Ronnie Van Zant, Artimus Pyle still feels the. Some of them went home and got tractors. Advertisement But the band had a tragic chance when a plane crash killed almost the whole band. The newly renamed band scored a major hit with their hard-driving debut album (pronounced lh-nrd skin-nrd) (1973), which featured one of the most familiar and joked-about rock anthems of all time, Free Bird. Their follow-up album, Second Helping (1974), included the even bigger hit Sweet Home Alabama, and it secured the bands status as giants of the southern rock subgenre. One local resident recalled, "I found someone on the ground alive. "If it's your time to go, it's your time to go," he quipped just before boarding. For music history buffs, the name Lynyrd Skynyrd instantly conjures up the day in 1977 when three band members, including founder Ronnie Van Zant, died in a plane crash in the woods of Mississippi. [18] Locals worked with rescue officials and drove victims to the hospital in the back of pick-up trucks. Black granite marble wall listing the passengers on the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane that crashed on October [+] 20th, 2022. Then when he was still 29, he was killed in a brutal plane crash in the Mississippi woods. Collins struggled to find a way forward after the 1977 plane crash that killed Skynyrd singer Ronnie . "It felt like being rolled down a hill in a garbage can and being hit by about a hundred baseball bats at the same time." For years, Lynyrd Skynyrd frontman Ronnie Van Zant claimed he would die before 30. Nine separate findings were listed, including statements that both engines on the plane "ceased to produce power because the aircraft's useable [sic] fuel was exhausted" and that the crew, Walter McCreary and William Gray,"failed to monitor adequately the fuel flow, en route fuel consumption, and fuel quantity gages [sic]." MANHATTAN (CN) - Hoping to shut down an upcoming movie about the 1977 plane crash that killed members of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd, widow Judith Van Zant testified Tuesday that the film sensationalizes a tragedy governed by a decades-old settlement. On October 20th, the Convair 240(similar to the one pictured) departed the airport at Greenville, South Carolina at 4:02 p.m. after being filled with 400 gallons of 100-octane, low-lead fuel. I was going back and forth from the cockpit to the cabin, talking to the pilots, telling everybody to put out their cigarettes, turn off any lights, and conserve any power we had. And, following the Southern by the Grace of Godlive album, everyone had entered into a "Consent Order" agreement wherein the "bargained-for rights" of the band would be protected. The musician sat on top of the airplane in shock for a few minutes, crying,before he heard people callingfor help. A well-publicized drug and alcohol addiction was immortalized in Lynyrd Skynyrd's "That Smell," a cautionary tale written by Collins and Van Zant after Rossington plowedhis new car intoan oak tree and then a house after passing out at the wheel. (AP Photo), 20, 1977. Just days after the crash, a television reporter asked the ailing Powell, "Will there be a Lynyrd Skynyrd after this?" [15] Aerosmith's touring family were quite shaken after receiving word of the crash, as Steven Tyler and Joe Perry had pressured their management into renting that specific plane for use on their tour. (Pyle managed to escape with just broken ribs; Collins suffered two broken vertebrae in his neck and damage to his right arm that nearly resulted in amputation; Rossington broke his arms, legs, wrists, ankles, and pelvis; keyboardist Billy Powell suffered severe lacerations on his face and right leg; and bassist Leon Wilkeson broke his left arm so badly and permanently, he had to relearn how to hold his instrument.) Meanwhile, according to Billy Powell, "Everybody was just doing their own thing" when the pilots alerted them to the situation. Two years later, the incapacitated guitarist contracted pneumonia. The accident report records that the aircraft was both owned and operated by L & J Company,[1] but the lease to Lynyrd Skynyrd's production company specified that Lynyrd Skynyrd was the operator[1] and therefore was responsible for regulatory compliance (including managing the flight crew). It tore the plane completely apart in the 10 to 12 seconds it took to go from 200 miles to a dead stop., EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT The twisted wreckage of a twin engine Convair 240 that smashed into some [+] trees in a rural area near McComb, Miss., Thursday night, Oct. 20, 1977 killing six people including three members of a rock group from The Lynyrd Skynyrd Band. As far as what caused the crash itself, the investigators concluded the following: "The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was fuel exhaustion and total loss of power from both engines due to crew inattention to fuel supply. [12] Billingsley planned on re-joining the tour in Little Rock, Arkansas, on October 23. The film included plenty of footage of the original band, as well as haunting recollections of the plane crash. [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?
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