Radford Job Level Guide, Micro Wedding Venues Lake District, Bobby Riggs Pickleball Open Play, Sea Of Thieves How To Get Bigger Ship, Prettiest Woman On Death Row, Articles C

At the beginning of the flight, all was well, amid high tensions. Cassie Gaines was one of the band members who boarded the ill-fated flight. It felt like being hit with baseball bats in a steel garbage can with the lid on. Allen Collins, another guitar player for the group, had cracked two vertebrae, and the cut to his right arm was so severe, that it almost required amputation. The album had a very controversial cover when released. The single "What's Your Name" reached #13 on the single airplay charts in January of 1978. As we talked, we heard a racket through the trees. 137.184.228.194 When the news broke that it was Lynyrd Skynyrd's tour plane, Nancy and I stared at each other. 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. 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. Cassie joined the team and became one of the three members of The Honkette's, a female gospel vocal trio of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Coincidence? Musician. She was requested to join the band as a backing vocalist. 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 29 years old at the time of death. "They seemed to be chasing him, trying to flag him down. The plane had a thinner fuselage and smaller wingspan than any of its kind at the time. So on the prow of this small boat, plowing the coastal water on the other side of the world, he and I abandoned inhibition with an unabashed air guitar jam. Cassie Gaines was born on January 9, 1948 and died on October 20, 1977. It would also be the first album that guitarist Steve Gaines would be the sole guitar player on. In addition to his fractured ribcage, Artimus Pyle was treated for numerous abrasions and contusions. I couldn't stand it. After a shorter-than-normal day of bow hunting, he received a phone call about a plane crash in the area. Cassie Gaines was a talented and committed backup singer for the Lynard Skynyrd music band until she died in a plane crash. Totaled, decimated, and left for dead. "Why, yes I do," I said, thinking about my roots, my old buddies and the high school dances. Road crew member Steve Lawler, who suffered severe contusions and facial lacerations, was taken to the hospital in a pickup with a camper top. Laying on the ground, still alive for only a moment, to slowly bleed to death. In the ensuing chaos, souvenir hunters took billfolds, jewelry, suitcases, band merchandise and even chunks of metal from the crash site. The fuselage turned sideways, and everybody was hurled forward.. The aircraft was destroyed by impact; there was no fire. Ronnie Van Zant enjoying a stog before a show. He rushed to his truck and headed in. It is reported that the pilots whose eyes were full of terror, told them to go back to their seats and prepare for impact. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, K-Pop isnt the only hot ticket in Koreatown how trot is captivating immigrants, Daisy Jones & the Six becomes the first fictional band to hit No. 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. It was there that he struck up a fractured conversation. A few minutes later I was talking my way past a Mississippi State trooper. 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). The two men, for a while, were the only able-bodied persons present to help pull people from the wreckage. Cassie Gaines Wikipedia; Sponsored Links. "He (Mote) ran in the door saying, 'Ya'll get down on the floor, there's escaped convicts out there," Martin remembers. It was rumored that it was Ed Kings (original guitar player for Lynyrd Skynyrd) wife but it was not confirmed. After I led him to the downtown McComb offices, I returned home, developed my film in a clumsy bathroom darkroom and went to sleep. Cassie was buried in Orange Park, Florida, together with her brother, Steve Gains. I was not there to be a gawker or to get in the way. Steve Gaines was killed instantly upon impact and his sister Cassie Gaines perished as well. A little after the two-hour mark, however, events started to unfold that would soon make history. We love you!!!" Cassie Gaines died on the 20 th of October, 1977 in a plane crash at Gillsburg, Mississippi when she was only 29 years old. He, like me, was 21-years-old at the time. 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. 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. Some blame it on the planes age and poor design, weighing in on its smaller fuselage and compact wingspan. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Mote hopped into his pick-up to get back to his house, told his wife to get back in the house, then proceeded to grab his gun and stand guard. 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. The years after the crash would be difficult in its own right for surviving members, most of which would experience tragedy and early death themselves. The reason behind this? When he was sober, he was a fair and kind person. 1 on iTunes Charts, 36 songs, no apologies: Morgan Wallen delivers more (much more) of what made him countrys king, David Lindley, guitarist best known for work with Jackson Browne, dies at 78, Desperate mountain residents trapped by snow beg for help; We are coming, sheriff says, Look up: The 32 most spectacular ceilings in Los Angeles, Winter storms ease drought conditions in California, report shows, 19 cafes that make L.A. a world-class coffee destination, Best coffee city in the world? The accident essentially destroyed one of the unique voices of American rock and roll. All the surrounding land is privately owned and prominently marked with "No Trespassing" signs. On several occasions, the latter shined through. 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. Ronnies mother Marion refused to make the flight, after seeing a horrific plane crash of her own that killed 9 people. Among them were Lacy Van Zant, Ronnies Father, and .38 Specials Guitarist Dan Barnes. But a message on the group's official Web site said the summer tour will resume on Aug. 7, in Spokane, Wash. The location sounded familiar so he asked them to repeat. But not all had the intentions of lending a helping hand. 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. "I was well prepared with advanced trauma life support training," he said, "and (I was) a flight surgeon in the military. It was there where he was found dead in his room on July 27. Two of them were crew members, pilot Walter McReary and co-pilot William Gray, the rest were band members and roadies. Ronnie Van Zant, drunk and laying in the middle of the aisle, simply pulled himself together, sat up, and quietly chose a seat up front. He then assembled a convoy of trucks and four-wheelers to locate the crash site and rescue the survivors. Mote recalls the first thing he saw was a bloody hand sticking out from the wreckage. The plane finally slammed into the earth, and Billy Powell recalls saying, We hit the trees at approximately 90 mph. The three injured men hiked some distance from the crash site, through swampy woods, and finally flagged down farmer Johnny Mote, who had come to investigate. 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.". This year there were no red roses, but a freshly carved "R.J." stood out with red paint enhancement. Martin said she then, "called 911, or 0, or whatever we called back then.". I didn't know where this was going. Powell's version of events has been discounted by both Artimus Pyle and Judy Van Zant Jenness, who posted the autopsy reports on the band's website in early 1998 in order to set the record straight. He could hear the people moaning, pleading for help. What injuries did Cassie Gaines die from? Don't look like they can afford a ticket. The rest of the group had no idea at the time that they would never see the face of Ronnie again. Powell's nose had been nearly ripped from his face after crashing head first through a table. Wilkeson would eventually be found dead in a hotel room in 2001 at age 49. 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. He could see the circling helicopter from his back yard. Allen Collins kept moving on, eventually getting together with Gary Rossington to form the Rossington Collins Band. Cassie Larue Gaines was an American singer. Contributing to the fuel exhaustion were inadequate flight planning and an engine malfunction of undetermined nature in the right engine which resulted in higher-than-normal fuel consumption." All reality had been broken and none of the surviving members would ever be the same or view life the same again. For members Gary Rossington and Allen Collins, the weight of what happened seemed to push down on them the most. 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. He was more in the image I was pre-visualizing - one of an aging rocker. 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. 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. Powells nose had been nearly ripped from his face after crashing head first through a table. Allen Collins kept moving on, eventually getting together with Gary Rossington to form the Rossington Collins Band. ", "I never cared about flying in an airplane," he said. Artimus Pyle, drummer for the band, stops for a quick picture while en route to the next show. Headline from a local newspaper reporting the crash. The album would reach gold in ten days after release and it would eventually go double platinum. Marc Frank recalled hearing both engines on the plane then within a matter of minutes, just air passing over the cabin. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. The will to carry on was strong, however, Pyle being a US Marine, would live out the phrase Semper Fidelis which means always faithful. No discernable landmarks remained, save the creek bed. The band has been on tour, and dates through the weekend have been cancelled. We were all fans. Wilkeson would play in both Rossington Collins Band and the Allen Collins band. ", "There were plenty of old boys standing around here. His wife, Lola, and my wife grew up together. The talented singer met her death at the young age of 29. Steven Earl Gaines (September 14, 1949 - October 20, 1977) was an American musician. They were scheduled to perform at the Louisiana State University. But one thing I'm proud of. 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. It was the last flight of Lynyrd Skynyrd: Oct. 20, 1977, the night they . I quickly maneuvered free of a crumpled bumper and sped off. Any debris left on the ground has long been buried. From left to right: Allen Collins, Ronnie Van Zant, And Gary Rossington. We were shocked, as were most others hearing the news. "They stopped, straight back there," he said, and pointed to the tree line a quarter mile across open hay fields and woods. He suffered a heart attack . Collins and other band members were severely injured. Aerosmiths band management at the time was looking at a Convair CV-240. As the Houston Press reports, the crash took Van Zant's life, as well as the lives of band member Steve Gaines and his sister, backup singer Cassie; and Dean Kilpatrick, the assistant road manager. 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.