Back to This Week in Music History: October 14 - 20
October 20, 1977: Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash
MCA
Tragedy struck southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd when the "Free Bird" band's Convair CV-300 plane ran out of fuel and crashed in a forest near Gillsburg, Mississippi. The band's lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, lead guitarist Steve Gaines as well as Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray all died in the crash, while many of the surviving band members and crew suffered serious injuries.
The band, who've been around since 1964, continue to tour today. The only original surviving member is guitarist Gary Rossington.
In uncomfortably ironies, the crash occured just three days after the band released their Street Survivors album.
