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. 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. The events before the plane crash are perhaps the most bone-chilling ones you'd ever hear. 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. "He (Mote) ran in the door saying, 'Ya'll get down on the floor, there's escaped convicts out there," Martin remembers. Cassie was 29 years old at the time of death. The pilots tried an emergency landing, but the plane crashed in the woods near Gillsburg in Mississippi. Everyone was afraid of riding on this plane. His luck, however, was on the short end of the stick as he would have his throat slit while on the Lynyrd Skynyrd tour bus in the early 90s. Check your inbox to be the first to know the hottest news. "He didn't want to talk about it for years.". Pyle, Frank, and Peden were met with hostility when they finally came up to Mote. Photo: Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader. My younger brother and I banged out "Freebird" on a cheap set of drums in our bedroom. The two men, for a while, were the only able-bodied persons present to help pull people from the wreckage. Collins and other band members were severely injured. But not all had the intentions of lending a helping hand. Owners emphasize that trespassers can be prosecuted. I'd deal with that later. He was only 39, but was no rookie. 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. I told him that it was the strongest thing I had seen a man do.. Three crew members died in a plane crash just three days after the release of their 5th album. My college roommate was a young photojournalist. In 1995, while on assignment in Phunket Thailand for the Times-Picayune's series "Oceans of Trouble," I boarded a small fantail fishing boat on the edges of the Andaman Sea with writer John McQuaid to photograph the disappearing mangroves. Steve Gaines was killed instantly upon impact and his sister Cassie Gaines perished as well. Bianca is an American actress. 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 will to carry on was strong, however, Pyle being a US Marine, would live out the phrase Semper Fidelis which means always faithful. 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. McDaniel was eager to join me. Medical personnel arrived and began to ferry out the injured and the dead. After claiming his deceased son, Lacy Van Zant went to visit the other members of the band at the hospital. The band regularly has different people sit in and play shows with them like Warren Haynes and Dicky Betts. Cassie Gaines died on the 20 th of October, 1977 in a plane crash at Gillsburg, Mississippi when she was only 29 years old. Cassie Gaines Birthday and Date of Death. 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. The medical examiner reported that Wilkeson suffered from liver and lung disease at the time of his death. Billy Powell would be in the new starting line-up of Lynyrd Skynyrd until his death in 2009. MCA Records, out of courtesy, withdrew the sleeve and replaced it with a cover of the band striking a similar pose against a plain black background. I obviously didn't know what I was doing. All of the seats were ripped from the frame of the plane, landing in the front section of the crash. She was born on 9th January 1948 in Missouri, USA. 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 the ensuing chaos, souvenir hunters took billfolds, jewelry, suitcases, band merchandise and even chunks of metal from the crash site. The pilot and co-pilot also died; 20 others aboard lived. From left to right: Allen Collins, Ronnie Van Zant, And Gary Rossington. Rock Musician. When he was sober, he was a fair and kind person. In 1986, his car ran off a road and crashed into a culvert, paralyzing him from the waist down and killing his girlfriend. Everyone was afraid of riding on this plane. The single "What's Your Name" reached #13 on the single airplay charts in January of 1978. 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. Small and cramped, it still felt better than lift-off of the Convair CV-240. Without wanting to cause alarm he thought to himself that maybe the pilots were trying to transfer fuel from one engine to another. We always wondered why, you know. The surviving members would grapple with this throughout their days. 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. We were shocked, as were most others hearing the news. 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. 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, Steve Gainess sister who were both bound for death in the crash, would routinely ride on the equipment bus rather than the plane. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. It would also be the first album that guitarist Steve Gaines would be the sole guitar player on. It felt like being hit with baseball bats in a steel garbage can with the lid on. Lynyrd Skynyrd stops for a shot in 1973. So we came out here and got busy. There is some speculation as to why the second engine had ultimately failed. The band would be marked for strife as just before their inaugural tour, Allens wife would bleed to death due to a miscarriage. Powell also claimed that Ronnie Van Zant's head had been smashed. They were scheduled to perform at the Louisiana State University. She was sick and would meet up with the band in Arkansas to continue the tour. 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. On 20th October 1977, the Lynyrd Skynyrd boarded a chartered Convair CV-240 to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after their performance in Greenville, South Carolina. Aerosmiths management passed on the opportunity to call this plane their own. Easley knows he wasn't the first on the site, but he was there early. Pyle used the couple's phone to call his wife. He had known Easley Creek since his youth. The pilots were still in their seats, but were laying upside down in nearby trees. As they, too, were succumbing to the sub-par standards of the plane and crew. Cassie Gaines cause of death The talented singer met her death at the young age of 29. Marc Frank, a 24-year-old roadie traveling with the band, noticed what seemed to be fuel spewing from the right engine. He was a walking treasure trove of names, facts and figures. When he was sober, he was a fair and kind person. 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. Mote fired a warning shot in the air. Home; Memorials; Cemeteries; Famous; Contribute; Register; Sign In; Register; Sign In; . A Convair CV-240. Lynyrd Skynyd: The NTSB Report - Angelfire The other two members were JoJo Billingsley and Leslie Hawkins. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. ", But with no experience he morphed from a dairy farmer to a rescuer. The plane finally slammed into the earth, and Billy Powell recalls saying, We hit the trees at approximately 90 mph. 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. Freebird, Lynyrd Skynyrd, 10/20/77 and a notebook-sized rebel flag are deeply etched into the old bark. Photo: thetv.info. Cassie Gaines mother was LaRue, while her father was Bud. Artimus Pyle was also notoriously outspoken against the plane and on several occasions would take buses to shows. Suffocating the people on the bottom from the sheer weight. However, it is believed that the pilots were trying to transfer oil from one engine to another when they accidentally jettisoned the fuel instead. What injuries did Cassie Gaines die from? Violent, wild, and belligerent, Ronnie was a force to be reckoned with. Ronnies mother Marion refused to make the flight, after seeing a horrific plane crash of her own that killed 9 people. Rossington recalls saying It was always weird for Allen and me because we were up front in the plane. 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. On October 20, 1977, a Convair CV-240 carrying the band between shows from Greenville, South Carolina to Baton Rouge, Louisiana crashed outside of Gillsburg, Mississippi. 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. Ronnie Van Zant enjoying a stog before a show. Cassie Gaines was a talented and committed backup singer for the Lynard Skynyrd music band until she died in a plane crash. Lynyrd Skynyrd Bassist Wilkeson Found Dead - ABC News "Live on my brother. In 1977, lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Stevie Gaines and Gaines sister, Cassie Gaines, were killed in a plane crash. 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. Street Survivors was released just three days before the crash and would quickly become a hit. 2023 Getty Images. Wilkeson would play in both Rossington Collins Band and the Allen Collins band. read another typical message of mourning. "I knew she was gone. 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. I grabbed my camera and jumped in the car. Natural causes were to blame. 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. On the original pressing of the cover of Street Survivors was a photograph of the band engulfed in flames. "If (that tree) could talk, it'd tell you all about it," he said. 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. In addition to his fractured ribcage, Artimus Pyle was treated for numerous abrasions and contusions. The plane was produced from 1947-1954. As the three marched on, feet soaking wet from the water, all odds seemed stacked against the trio. 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.