It felt like being hit with baseball bats in a steel garbage can with the lid on. Video of a barechested Pyle at the 1979 Volunteer Jam does not show evidence of a gunshot wound. The band leased a new Convair CV-240 to help them get between shows easier. Steve Gaines was killed instantly upon impact and his sister Cassie Gaines perished as well. Ronnie Van Zant was just more than the bands main songwriter, frontman, and singer. Freebird, Lynyrd Skynyrd, 10/20/77 and a notebook-sized rebel flag are deeply etched into the old bark. How did Cassie Gaines of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd die? - Yen she asked me as we talked. Lead vocalist and founding member of the southern rock band, Ronnie Van Zant, also lost his life in the accident. They were scheduled to perform at the Louisiana State University. 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. Bianca is a force to be reckoned with in the American film industry. After a shorter-than-normal day of bow hunting, he received a phone call about a plane crash in the area. Lynyrd Skynyrd is no doubt an American staple in music and southern rock culture. News had spread about the crash and before too long an estimated 3,000 people had swarmed to the crash site. to gather a few more. Pyle claimed in a February 2007 appearance on Howard Stern's Sirius radio program that Mote had shot him; Mote has always denied shooting the drummer. 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). 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. However, it is believed that the pilots were trying to transfer oil from one engine to another when they accidentally jettisoned the fuel instead. 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. Dean Kilpatrick, the bands manager, lay dead and covered in blood. The tour is scheduled to run through mid-September. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Cassie Gaines Death Fact Check, Birthday & Date of Death - Dead or Kicking 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. The two men, for a while, were the only able-bodied persons present to help pull people from the wreckage. The fuselage turned sideways, and everybody was hurled forward.. One guy standing near the wreckage lit a cigarette and I tackled him," he said. Four of the passengers were killed including bandleader and lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines and assistant tour manager Dean Kilpatrick. Totaled, decimated, and left for dead. Pyle did confirm (from Pyle's interview on the The Howard Stern Show on Sirius Satellite Radio, Feb. 12, 2007) that Van Zant's cause of death was trauma to the head caused by equipment, such as Betamax tapes and Trinitrons, flying forward in the plane's cabin. The sky is the limit for the talented actress. She was sick and would meet up with the band in Arkansas to continue the tour. And the hardest-working rock 'n' roll band in America was about to run out of gas. 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. 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. Rescuers look over the wreckage of the 1977 Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash. Van Zant, Steve and Cassie Gaines, Kilpatrick and the pilots were laid in a temporary morgue at a local high school gymnasium. So, we're both southerners.". Cassie Gaines Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images What happened to the Menendez brothers' money? On another occasion, while reportedly on a drunken rage, he even slashed the hands of Gary Rossington, his best friend and guitarist, with a broken beer bottle. There have been several different theories as to the culprits of this . This year there were no red roses, but a freshly carved "R.J." stood out with red paint enhancement. It would take hours to remove the bodies of the dead and injured from the plane. Your IP: 137.184.228.194 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. As we walked through the woods, Governor and I agree that nothing looked or felt the same. In the ensuing chaos, souvenir hunters took billfolds, jewelry, suitcases, band merchandise and even chunks of metal from the crash site. ", "I expected to see all dead people looking at these woods. Van Zant, Steve and Cassie Gaines, Kilpatrick and the pilots were laid in a temporary morgue at a local high school gymnasium. 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. The death of Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and Cassie Gains of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd was a massive blow to many. Natural causes were to blame. Born Steven Earl Gaines, the son of Cassie Hatfield and Earl Gaines. One of them being completely decapitated. On 20th October 1977, the Lynyrd Skynyrd boarded a chartered Convair CV-240 to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after their performance in Greenville, South Carolina. "Yes, your right," I said, slightly amused. They were directing him to the property next to his family's farm. Artimus Pyle and Gary Rossington are the only two members alive today from the crash. 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 decided that once they had landed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, they would acquire a Learjet to replace the severely outdated 30-year-old plane. No discernable landmarks remained, save the creek bed. Cassie joined the team and became one of the three members of The Honkette's, a female gospel vocal trio of Lynyrd Skynyrd. The plane was produced from 1947-1954. 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.". Their lyrics were raw and fresh - honest and simple. The other band members Collins, Gary Rossington, Wilkeson, Powell, Artimus Pyle, and Hawkins, tour manager Ron Eckerman, and several road crew suffered . No one that hit the ground alive died. For members Gary Rossington and Allen Collins, the weight of what happened seemed to push down on them the most. The accident essentially destroyed one of the unique voices of American rock and roll. When the news broke that it was Lynyrd Skynyrd's tour plane, Nancy and I stared at each other. Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. She was famous for being part of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. 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. He was a walking treasure trove of names, facts and figures. Powell also claimed that Ronnie Van Zant's head had been smashed. He obtained his first guitar at about age 14. Other band members were injured, some very seriously. I told him that it was the strongest thing I had seen a man do.. I'm really not sure anymore," he said. A plane crash left lead singer Ronnie Van Zandt, lead guitarist Steve Gaines and backup singer Cassie Gaines dead. [2] The next morning I looked over them, made a few small prints and forgot about them. memorial page for Cassie LaRue Hatfield Gaines (26 Nov 1926-15 Feb 1979), Find a Grave Memorial ID 37010431, citing Jacksonville Memory . If a band couldn't play Skynyrd, they didn't get hired for the school dance. Some blame it on the planes age and poor design, weighing in on its smaller fuselage and compact wingspan. Billy Powell would be in the new starting line-up of Lynyrd Skynyrd until his death in 2009. It was there where he was found dead in his room on July 27. The cover would quickly be changed to a more bland blacked-out background with the band in the same pose after the accident. It was known that the right engine's magneto a small power generator that provides spark and timing for the engine had been malfunctioning (Powell, among others, spoke of seeing flames shooting out of the right engine on a trip just prior to the accident), and that pilots McCreary and Gray had intended to repair the damaged part when the travelling party arrived in Baton Rouge. As the three marched on, feet soaking wet from the water, all odds seemed stacked against the trio. The singer was approached by artist JoJo Billingsley, sent by the band's head and lead vocalist, Ronnie Van Zant. Identification was completely hindered as there had been a poker game going on during the flight, and everyones wallets and purses had been strewn throughout the swamp. He then assembled a convoy of trucks and four-wheelers to locate the crash site and rescue the survivors. Marc Frank, a 24-year-old roadie traveling with the band, noticed what seemed to be fuel spewing from the right engine. Steve Gaines was killed instantly upon impact and his sister Cassie Gaines perished as well. Photo: Pinterest. Marc Frank, a 24-year-old roadie traveling with the band, noticed what seemed to be fuel spewing from the right engine. The plane finally slammed into the earth, and Billy Powell recalls saying, We hit the trees at approximately 90 mph. "They seemed to be chasing him, trying to flag him down. But not all had the intentions of lending a helping hand. Without wanting to cause alarm he thought to himself that maybe the pilots were trying to transfer fuel from one engine to another. At the time of her death she survived by her large extended friends and family. Gary Rossington, one of the bands guitar players, had suffered two broken arms, a broken leg, a punctured stomach and liver. We always wondered why, you know. The surviving members would grapple with this throughout their days. Suffocating the people on the bottom from the sheer weight. Gene Odom, Lynyrd Skynyrds bodyguard, recalls: They took my watch, my wallet, my ring, and my money as I lay bleeding on the ground. The Tragic Death Of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Ronnie Van Zant - Grunge.com Remembering Lynyrd Skynyrd's Deadly 1977 Plane Crash And to Brenda's point, he's writing a book. Street Survivors became the band's second platinum album, and was the #5 top selling album on the U.S. album chart. 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. The whole scene tore him apart. Musician. I knew I could take photographs if I could get there. Marc Frank was beaten terribly and was also covered in lacerations and blood. I was a young graphic artist at the time. Gary continues on the band with Ronnies brother, Johnny Van Zant, and guitarist Ricky Medlocke. Posted and no trespassing signs are prominently displayed. The guys hit the dirt and yelling out with what they had left Hey! His first band recorded its debut at Sun Recording Studio in Memphis, and later bands included RIO Smokehouse and Rusty Day. Victims were taken to the hospital in McComb, Mississippi by ambulances and other vehicles. The events before the plane crash are perhaps the most bone-chilling ones you'd ever hear. But sadly when he drank, which was quite often, his demeanor and character qualities changed drastically. They all died but we didnt. In the beginning, the singer was reluctant to board the aircraft and had already bought another commercial flight ticket. The pilots would have to make an emergency landing. But soon, the helicopters that were heard and seen previously were on the scene. Buker had noticed the flight crew passing around liquor bottles while aboard the plane. Both of which helped the album climb to the No. She was born on 9th January 1948 in Missouri, USA. The guys hit the dirt and yelling out with what they had left Hey! Since Cassie was not aware of the band's existence at that time, Jojo offered her a copy of Lynyrd Skynyrd's first two albums to make her acquainted with the band's work. I'd deal with that later. Cassie was 29 years old at the time of death. Allen's wife would bleed to death due to a miscarriage. Photo: thetv.info. 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. He had already finished a film about the plane crash when Gary and several others stepped in and placed a lawsuit against the film to not be shown to the public. 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. Lynyrd Skynyrd stops for a shot in 1973. Governor said, "I'm bad about leaving an empty beer bottle and a full one for Ronnie and the boys" each year. Everyone knows him as "Governor." Things were going so well. I knew I had no business going, and my wife told me so. A small plane with 40 seats and two props the plane was anything but extraordinary. Band confidant, Gene Odum, is privately interviewed to share his story on what happened on this awful day in history. He says he first came in the 80s after he graduated. A little after the two-hour mark, however, events started to unfold that would soon make history. "I'd never seen anything like that," he said. Martin said she then, "called 911, or 0, or whatever we called back then.". Artimus Pyle was also notoriously outspoken against the plane and on several occasions would take buses to shows. Powell's nose had been nearly ripped from his face after crashing head first through a table. It was there that he struck up a fractured conversation. How did Cassie Gaines get in Lynyrd Skynyrd? Wilkeson would eventually be found dead in a hotel room in 2001 at age 49. 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. It is reported that the pilots whose eyes were full of terror, told them to go back to their seats and prepare for impact. Cassie Gaines Wiki, Biography, Age, Career, Relationship, Net Worth This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Before long, he noticed three men emerge from the dense woods along the pasture. Tremendous physical pain overwhelmed the group as did mental exhaustion. Rossington recalls saying It was always weird for Allen and me because we were up front in the plane. Everyone just stood there helpless. It was Steve, and me, and Ronnie and I was in the middle of them. 1977 Plane Crash | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Fandom Gabel says he's been to the site 15 or more times. . Billy Powell would be in the new starting line-up of Lynyrd Skynyrd until his death in 2009. On October 20, 1977, they would board a flight bound for Louisiana that would crash in Gillsberg, Missippi and claim the lives of band members Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, along with Pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray. Photo: Pinterest. Laying on the ground, still alive for only a moment, to slowly bleed to death. The site is hard to access. Toxicology tests were also ordered to determine whether there were drugs in his system at the time. Click to reveal Cassie Gaines, a member of the backing vocal trio known as the Honkettes and sister of guitarist Steve Gaines, was so petrified that she nearly squeezed in the band's cramped equipment truck. Performance & security by Cloudflare. Two of them were crew members, pilot Walter McReary and co-pilot William Gray, the rest were band members and roadies. 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. Aerosmiths management passed on the opportunity to call this plane their own. According to an interview in the book Freebirds, Billingsley had dreamed of the plane crash and begged Allen Collins by telephone not to continue using the Convair. Cassie Gaines: Southern Rock's Honkette | Rocks Off Mag Her mother passed away on 15th February 1979 in a car accident. He remembered seeing bodies everywhere. Even though she survived the actual crash, she eventually bled to death before the rescue team could reach her. 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've not looked at them since. It was Dr. Hank Lewis, a month shy of 78-years-old. The band had just released their biggest album to date and was riding off of a good high. At this point, for Artimus Pyle, Marc Frank, and Ken Peden, the only sensible thing left to do was to leave certain death at the crash site, for uncertainty in the swamp. 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. But sadly when he drank, which was quite often, his demeanor and character qualities changed drastically. The will to carry on was strong, however, Pyle being a US Marine, would live out the phrase Semper Fidelis which means always faithful. He didn't know who the victims were. From the commercial hits of Free Bird and Simple Man to less mainstream songs like The Needle And The Spoon and T Is For Texas, Lynyrd Skynyrd and their driving southern sound quickly cut their way to the top of the charts and into the hearts of many across the states and around the world. TBS - Movies for Guys Who Like Movies Bumper - The Jerk - 1996, TBS - Dinner & A Movie - Urban Cowboy Promo - 1995, TBS - Movies for Guys Who Like Movies - Running Scared Promo - 1995. "I've been coming for years," he said, "and I've never met anyone who was here that night. "Why, yes I do," I said, thinking about my roots, my old buddies and the high school dances. Mote fired a warning shot in the air. The reason behind this? Artimus Pyle emerged with several broken ribs, and bleeding everywhere you could. It would be another hour before I heard the big news. They were scheduled to perform at the Louisiana State University. Allen Collins kept moving on, eventually getting together with Gary Rossington to form the Rossington Collins Band. We love you!!!" Photo: Pinterest. All reality had been broken and none of the surviving members would ever be the same or view life the same again. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. We had a friendly translator whose command of the English language was poor at best. I quickly maneuvered free of a crumpled bumper and sped off. Collins and other band members were severely injured. Headline from a local newspaper reporting the crash. "I saw the blond hair," he said. Powells nose had been nearly ripped from his face after crashing head first through a table. The aircraft crashed in a heavily wooded area during an attempted emergency landing. The album had a very controversial cover when released. 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.". You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Lewis was on emergency room call that night at McComb's Southwest Regional Medical Center. 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. Thats when most of the sober members of the band saw that the right propeller was no longer working.
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