| Investigation into airplane crash continues A story originally published October 24, 1977, just days after the crash Several of the survivors of the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash at Gillsburg were reported in improved condition today while investigators continued to inspect the wreckage of the twin-engine aircraft that carried six persons to their deaths and injured 20 others Thursday night. Rudolph Kasputin, director of the National Transportation Safety Board team combing the crash site, along with investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration, said the planes engines, fuel gauge and other equipment were removed Sunday for inspection. Autopsies were performed Friday on the bodies of the pilots. Investigators also asked to see complete records on the 30-plus-year-old Convair 240 and on both pilots, as efforts to determine what caused the crash continues. Kasputin has said that the plane ran out of gas as a "distinct possibility." Rumors that drugs and money were found aboard the plane are false, said Amite County Sheriff Norman Travis.He said money and bottles of drugs were found "scattered in different places" at the crash site. He declined to say how much money had been recovered. He added that the drugs were "in bottles and weren't labeled, some was prescription medicine and some was just old drugstore medicine."..... Investigators spent the weekend interviewing the survivors and witnesses who were on the ground at the time of the crash. The plane carrying the Lynyrd Skynyrd rock group and their road crew, crashed shortly before 7pm in a wooded area of Amite County. The pilot only moments before had radioed the flight control center in Houston that he was having fuel problems and had been told the nearest airport was at McComb. The plane crashed eight miles south of the airports runway, minutes away from its destination in Baton Rouge. The group was to perform at Louisiana State University Friday night. Of the survivors, five were listed in improved condition today, six were stable, and two were expected to be discharged soon, possibly tomorrow. Two of the survivors who had been hospitalized, Mark Frank and Kenneth Peden, discharged during the weekend from Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center. Still in treatment at Southwest hospital, all listed as improved, were Leon Wilkeson, the groups bass guitarist, who was still in intensive care but "doing better"; Joe Osborne, Don Kretzschman, Kevin Elson, Ron Eckerman, Steve Lawler, Clayton Johnson, Craig Reed and James Bryce. At Baptist Hospital in Jackson, guitarist Gary Rossington was said to be in stable but in intensive care, while Mark Howard was moved from the intensive care unit to a private room and is listed in stable condition. Bill Sykes and Bill Powell are expected to be discharged soon, a hospital spokesman said. Four persons at University Medical Center in Jackson are all listed as stable. They are vocalist Leslie Ann Hawkins, guitarist Larkin Allen Collins, Gene Odom and Paul Welch. Three members of the rock group, both pilots and another person died in the plane crash. The dead included lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and his sister Cassie, a vocalist, and Dean Kilpatrick, assistant road manager for the group. Two of the survivors, interviewed from their hospital beds Friday, said they had almost refused to fly in the chartered airplane, owned by L&J Leasing Company of Addison Texas. "There had been a lot of mistrust of that airplane since we chartered it," said Clayton Johnson, the bands stage manager. Johnson said he and several other passengers met shortly before boarding the piston-engine craft in Greenville South Carolina, Thursday night to discuss the possibility of refusing to fly it any longer. He said Cassie Gaines, who died in the crash, also had talked with him about the possibility of riding in the equipment truck instead of the plane. Johnson said there was no panic when the pilot announced a crash was imminent, but he said everyone had expressions of disbelief, and that "several of them starting cursing the airplane." Stage crewman Kenneth Peden was hesitant to fly also. "Just before the last trip the engine almost caught fire. The fuel mixture was wrong, and there was an explosion, and a flame six feet long came from the right engine." |
| Skynyrd crewman nearly nixed plane A story originally published October 25, 1977 Joe Osborne, a road crewman with Lynyrd Skynyrd, was so unnerved by an engine flameout, before Thursday night's fatal crash in Gillsburg that he made reservations to fly the next trip on a commercial airline. But at the last moment he joined his friends in the band and the road crew on the old chartered Convair 240 in Greenville South Carolina for the flight to Baton Rouge Louisiana. The band was to perform in concert before an estimated 10,000 persons at Louisiana State University Friday night. The plane crashed in thick woods near Gillsburg, eight miles south of the McComb-Pike County Airport runway, killing three members of the well-known rock band and injuring 20 others. Osborne was on of the others. This morning he was to have facial surgery at Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center. His wife Melissa said Osborne suffered numerous small fractures in his forehead and around his nose and a brain concussion when the plane crashed. The Osborne's, who recently moved to Dallas Texas, from Little Rock Arkansas said in a letter to the Enterprise-Journal, addressed to the people of McComb, that they "have been deeply touched by the kind reception we received from everyone... The only way to ever repay your kindness to us, is to pass on the love we feel here in McComb to someone else in their time of need. "When we think of you people this phrase comes to mind, "There will come a night when the morning does not follow, and all that will be remembered of you is the love you gave out." Osborne and the other survivors are expected to recover from their injuries, although hospital spokesmen say some of the injured may be hospitalized for some time. Some survivors have been discharged from hospitals, and Bill Powell, the bands pianist, was discharged from Baptist Hospital in Jackson today. The cause of the crash is still in question while federal investigators continue to check key components of the plane's wreckage and probe the history of the plane and pilots, both of whom were killed. Autopsies showed that both died as a result of the crash and that there were "no pre-existing problems." The primary question still unanswered is how much fuel is aboard the plane when it crashed just before 7pm Thursday. Rudolf Kasputin, director of the National Transportation Safety Board team of investigators, said most of the wreckage has been released to insurance investigators after federal officials completed their work at the crash. Some parts of the plane have not been released including both engines, the fuel and ignition systems, components and the propellers. These will be subjected to additional examination and tests. Also, still being checked are the aircrafts flight record prior to leaving Greenville South Carolina, Thursday, the servicing operations which had been performed on the plane, and the tapes of air traffic control dispatches to the plane from Houston, Atlanta and Greenville. It was learned during the weekend, Kasputin said, that 400 gallons of fuel were pumped into the planes tanks before it left Greenville. But the question is how much was on board prior to refueling. Kasputin has said there is a "distinct possibility" that the plane ran out of gas but he said a number of other possibilities are being considered. Private investigators from an insurance company representing owners of the plane also have been combing the crash site, and said the companies investigation would not end for several weeks. While the probe into the cause of the crash continues, rumors circulate that large amounts of money and drugs were on the plane. There have been reports also that another body was found in the wreckage during the weekend. "It's all false" said Amite County Sheriff Norman Travis. "Just a pack of rumors" said Pike County Sheriff Robert "Tot" Lawson. Both were among rescuers the night of the crash and both said they had seen bottles of medicine and some money and checks. All was confiscated by Travis. Both said reports of another body found are false. Travis said he and several guards have been watching the crash site since Friday when National Guard troops left the scene, adding that most of the money and personal items had been collected for storage at the courthouse. There were a lot of loose bills all over the place the night of the crash, and there's no telling what got carried away," Travis said. "But we haven't found any large amounts of money, and to the owner, no one else. |
PARTS OF MY
INTERVIEW WITH
JACQUELYN
COOPER
On October 20th 1977,
a twin engine plane
carrying the Rock 'N'
Roll band Lynyrd
Skynyrd crashed in a
remote section of
woods in near
Gillsburg, Mississippi.
The plane ran out of fuel
and crashed before
7:00pm, at the wooded
property.
Six lives were claimed
in the crash including
band members, Ronnie
VanZant, Steve Gaines,
Cassie Gaines,
Pilot Walter Wiley
McCreary, co-pilot
William John Gray,
and Dean Kilpatrick
(the assistant road
manager for the group).
Six other members of
the rock band were
injured, two hurt critically
and four hospitalized in
stable condition.
Survivor's listed in
critical condition,
included members of
the group's road crew
and a camera man.
The propeller-driven
Convair 240 skidded
across tree tops for
about 100 yards, then
slammed into a
swampy area and split
open. I interviewed
Jacquelyn Sturdivant
Cooper, a family
member of the property
owner. She has
collected family archives
including newspaper's,
photograph's, and
family stories regarding
the day the plane
crashed in the woods
behind there house.
She also consulted with
her mother Connie, who
was home at the time of
the crash, and tells her
story. Interview by
Pat Adams is the
webmaster of
www.tennesseeconcerts
.com, with over 1,000
Nashville Tennessee
area concert pictures.
The Interview
took place in 2006
Who owned the
property where the
plane crashed at?
The actual resting place
was on the corner's of
three different
properties. My
grandparents (Percy &
Delores Easley),
Johnny Mote, and
Fernwood Industries.
The house closest to
the plane crash belong
to my parents (Connie
Easley Sturdivant &
Griffin Sturdivant),
my Aunt Lola Easley,
and Johnny Mote.
Where was your
family's house
compared to the
plane crash?
Our house was
approximately a
quarter mile through
pasture and woods
to the crash site.
Who was at home
when the plane crash
occurred?
My mom (Connie),
my two sisters
(Natalie and Ashley),
and my Aunt Lola.
They were eating
supper at our house,
when they heard the
plane crash. The
windows were open
because it was a cool
evening, when they
heard a very loud sound
like "metal on metal".
My mom said the sound
lasted about thirty
seconds, then nothing.
They jumped in the car
and went out to the road
to see if they could find
a car crash, because
they had no idea it was
a plane.
How did they find
the plane crash?
My Uncle Dwain Easley
and his friend Wayne
Blades were hunting
close to where the
plane crash occurred,
and heard it. They took
off into the swampy area
looking for it, and were
the first ones on the
scene. My mother,
sisters, and Aunt Lisa
drove by Johnny Mote's
house, where they
found Johnny and crash
survivor Artimus Pyle.
They had called for help.
They went into the
woods and helicopters
were flying around with
big search lights,
looking for the plane.
Twenty-six people were
in the plane when it
crashed, and my Uncle
Dwain pulled each of
them out of the
wreckage.
Did anyone see the
plane before it
crashed?
A few miles away, my
Uncle Arthur (Williams)
saw the plane and knew
it was going down. He
called it in, and thought
it went down close to
our house, which it had.
What have you been
told the crash scene
like?
It was swampy, thick
woods, and you had to
cross a twenty-foot
wide, waist high creek
to get to the plane.
It was a running creek
that was between
pasture and more
woods. A log was used
to cross over the creek
and get to the crash
site. There was total
chaos with helicopters
hovering overhead with
search lights to
illuminate the crash
scene. Clothes,
luggage, money, and
other items scattered .
How did help get
through the woods to
the scene?
They had to bring in a
bulldozer to cut a path
into the woods, then
cross the creek. Three
ambulances got stuck
in the pasture. People
began using pickup
trucks to transport the
crash victims. It took
three or more hours to
get the victims out.
What family members
later went to visit the
hospital?
My Aunt Lisa went.
She knew who Lynyrd
Skynyrd was, from
listening to their music.
She returned the late
Ronnie VanZant's
(singer) hat to his
wife Judy VanZant.
What did the National
Guard do at the crash
scene?
They were there to
secure the area, so
investigator's could
figure out what
happened. Their were
so many people coming
down there, and even
some of the rescue
people were taking stuff.
They brought in the
National Guard to stop
all that.
Who took these
picture's of the plane
crash, and when?
They were taken by my
Aunt Lisa, the day after
the crash.
Did any of the
survivors come back
the visit in the years
following following the
plane crash?
Yes, some of them
came back to my Aunt
Lisa's house, and to
the nearby campground.
They also went to
Johnny Mote's place, too.
What happened to your
family member's that
were involved?
They are all still in the
area, except my Aunt
Lisa. She died in a car
wreck in January of
1982, about a mile
from the plane crash.
You said Johnny Mote
moved, what happened
to him?
He is still in the area,
and owner of Parklane
Mini-Storage in
McComb Mississippi.
Are there any Lynyrd
Skynyrd tributes in the
area?
Not one. I don't
understand why not,
because there are
so many fans still.
You went to the
Southern Tribute
concert on Johnny
Mote's property in
2002 featuring Artimus
Pyle, Travis Tritt and
others. How was it?
It rocked! We enjoyed
everyone except
for country singer
Travis Tritt.
What are some of your
memories of the
Southern Tribute
concert?
The best part was when
Artimus Pyle got up on
stage and blasted the
ones who tried to stop
the "tribute" concert.
Headliner Travis Tritt
would not let the bands
play on his (so called)
professional stage
because he claimed
that they were not
professional enough.
I thought Artimus Pyle
said exactly what
needed to be said. We
stayed until the
thunderstorm ran
everyone off. They
played "Freebird"
with one of
Ronnie VanZant's hat's
on the microphone.
Two fifth-size bottles of
Jack Daniels Whiskey
were tossed out to the
crowd, to have a toast to
the victims of the plane
crash. It was very
emotional for everyone.
They rocked, even in the
thunderstorm for a while
before the show ended.
Artimus still has it!
Has Lynyrd Skynyrd
ever played in the
area?
No, that was the first
time any members have
played here. I wish they
would come back. I love
their music. I have been
able to relate much of
my life to the songs
Lynyrd Skynyrd sang.
They were, and will
always be legends to
me. As long as the fans
keep there music alive,
those band members
didn't die in vain. They
died, and with our help
the "bird will continue to
fly free".
INTERVIEW WITH
JACQUELYN
COOPER
On October 20th 1977,
a twin engine plane
carrying the Rock 'N'
Roll band Lynyrd
Skynyrd crashed in a
remote section of
woods in near
Gillsburg, Mississippi.
The plane ran out of fuel
and crashed before
7:00pm, at the wooded
property.
Six lives were claimed
in the crash including
band members, Ronnie
VanZant, Steve Gaines,
Cassie Gaines,
Pilot Walter Wiley
McCreary, co-pilot
William John Gray,
and Dean Kilpatrick
(the assistant road
manager for the group).
Six other members of
the rock band were
injured, two hurt critically
and four hospitalized in
stable condition.
Survivor's listed in
critical condition,
included members of
the group's road crew
and a camera man.
The propeller-driven
Convair 240 skidded
across tree tops for
about 100 yards, then
slammed into a
swampy area and split
open. I interviewed
Jacquelyn Sturdivant
Cooper, a family
member of the property
owner. She has
collected family archives
including newspaper's,
photograph's, and
family stories regarding
the day the plane
crashed in the woods
behind there house.
She also consulted with
her mother Connie, who
was home at the time of
the crash, and tells her
story. Interview by
Pat Adams is the
webmaster of
www.tennesseeconcerts
.com, with over 1,000
Nashville Tennessee
area concert pictures.
The Interview
took place in 2006
Who owned the
property where the
plane crashed at?
The actual resting place
was on the corner's of
three different
properties. My
grandparents (Percy &
Delores Easley),
Johnny Mote, and
Fernwood Industries.
The house closest to
the plane crash belong
to my parents (Connie
Easley Sturdivant &
Griffin Sturdivant),
my Aunt Lola Easley,
and Johnny Mote.
Where was your
family's house
compared to the
plane crash?
Our house was
approximately a
quarter mile through
pasture and woods
to the crash site.
Who was at home
when the plane crash
occurred?
My mom (Connie),
my two sisters
(Natalie and Ashley),
and my Aunt Lola.
They were eating
supper at our house,
when they heard the
plane crash. The
windows were open
because it was a cool
evening, when they
heard a very loud sound
like "metal on metal".
My mom said the sound
lasted about thirty
seconds, then nothing.
They jumped in the car
and went out to the road
to see if they could find
a car crash, because
they had no idea it was
a plane.
How did they find
the plane crash?
My Uncle Dwain Easley
and his friend Wayne
Blades were hunting
close to where the
plane crash occurred,
and heard it. They took
off into the swampy area
looking for it, and were
the first ones on the
scene. My mother,
sisters, and Aunt Lisa
drove by Johnny Mote's
house, where they
found Johnny and crash
survivor Artimus Pyle.
They had called for help.
They went into the
woods and helicopters
were flying around with
big search lights,
looking for the plane.
Twenty-six people were
in the plane when it
crashed, and my Uncle
Dwain pulled each of
them out of the
wreckage.
Did anyone see the
plane before it
crashed?
A few miles away, my
Uncle Arthur (Williams)
saw the plane and knew
it was going down. He
called it in, and thought
it went down close to
our house, which it had.
What have you been
told the crash scene
like?
It was swampy, thick
woods, and you had to
cross a twenty-foot
wide, waist high creek
to get to the plane.
It was a running creek
that was between
pasture and more
woods. A log was used
to cross over the creek
and get to the crash
site. There was total
chaos with helicopters
hovering overhead with
search lights to
illuminate the crash
scene. Clothes,
luggage, money, and
other items scattered .
How did help get
through the woods to
the scene?
They had to bring in a
bulldozer to cut a path
into the woods, then
cross the creek. Three
ambulances got stuck
in the pasture. People
began using pickup
trucks to transport the
crash victims. It took
three or more hours to
get the victims out.
What family members
later went to visit the
hospital?
My Aunt Lisa went.
She knew who Lynyrd
Skynyrd was, from
listening to their music.
She returned the late
Ronnie VanZant's
(singer) hat to his
wife Judy VanZant.
What did the National
Guard do at the crash
scene?
They were there to
secure the area, so
investigator's could
figure out what
happened. Their were
so many people coming
down there, and even
some of the rescue
people were taking stuff.
They brought in the
National Guard to stop
all that.
Who took these
picture's of the plane
crash, and when?
They were taken by my
Aunt Lisa, the day after
the crash.
Did any of the
survivors come back
the visit in the years
following following the
plane crash?
Yes, some of them
came back to my Aunt
Lisa's house, and to
the nearby campground.
They also went to
Johnny Mote's place, too.
What happened to your
family member's that
were involved?
They are all still in the
area, except my Aunt
Lisa. She died in a car
wreck in January of
1982, about a mile
from the plane crash.
You said Johnny Mote
moved, what happened
to him?
He is still in the area,
and owner of Parklane
Mini-Storage in
McComb Mississippi.
Are there any Lynyrd
Skynyrd tributes in the
area?
Not one. I don't
understand why not,
because there are
so many fans still.
You went to the
Southern Tribute
concert on Johnny
Mote's property in
2002 featuring Artimus
Pyle, Travis Tritt and
others. How was it?
It rocked! We enjoyed
everyone except
for country singer
Travis Tritt.
What are some of your
memories of the
Southern Tribute
concert?
The best part was when
Artimus Pyle got up on
stage and blasted the
ones who tried to stop
the "tribute" concert.
Headliner Travis Tritt
would not let the bands
play on his (so called)
professional stage
because he claimed
that they were not
professional enough.
I thought Artimus Pyle
said exactly what
needed to be said. We
stayed until the
thunderstorm ran
everyone off. They
played "Freebird"
with one of
Ronnie VanZant's hat's
on the microphone.
Two fifth-size bottles of
Jack Daniels Whiskey
were tossed out to the
crowd, to have a toast to
the victims of the plane
crash. It was very
emotional for everyone.
They rocked, even in the
thunderstorm for a while
before the show ended.
Artimus still has it!
Has Lynyrd Skynyrd
ever played in the
area?
No, that was the first
time any members have
played here. I wish they
would come back. I love
their music. I have been
able to relate much of
my life to the songs
Lynyrd Skynyrd sang.
They were, and will
always be legends to
me. As long as the fans
keep there music alive,
those band members
didn't die in vain. They
died, and with our help
the "bird will continue to
fly free".
| FEATURED RELATED LINK My (Pat Adams) full interview with Jacquelyn Cooper, a relative of the plane crash site landowner and rescuers. She worked with me on this tribute and supplied much of the information, including the rare plane crash pictures. Published on Southern Fried Magazine http://www.southernfriedmagazine.com/magazine/m odules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4 |
| Lynyrd Skynyrd The Tragic Plane Crash Follow up News Reports |
| Plane crash questions lingering unanswered A story originally published November 3,1977 Two weeks after the plane crash that killed three members of the Lynyrd Skynyrd rock band and three others, questions remaining about missing money, missing personal items and missing answers to what caused the crash. And what will happen to the surviving members of the band and to other passengers on the plane, most of who were employed by Lynyrd Skynyrd Productions Inc.? The twin-engine propeller-driven Convair 240, said to be built in the 1950's, crashed near Gillsburg October 20 after the pilot had reported fuel problems. There seems to be no doubt that legal action will be taken by the survivors against the owners by the survivors against the owners of the plane, L&J Leasing Company of Addison Texas. The wife of one of the injured persons said several lawsuits were being prepared, but she noted several years could elapse before final action of any of the suits is taken. According to the leasing agreement between L&J and Lynyrd Skynyrd, the leasing company would provide a total of $2 million liability insurance in the amounts of $100,000 liability per seat and hull insurance for the total value of the aircraft. The band had paid $5,000 in advance on the lease, total amount of which was $15,034, the agreement said. One section of the contract stipulated that the "lease shall hold lessor harmless in any event that drugs or narcotics of any kind should be brought aboard this aircraft for any purpose." A local attorney said the paragraph meant simply that if illegal drugs were discovered aboard the plane and arrests were made, the leasing company would not face charges and the plane would not be confiscated by authorities for having been used to carry such drugs. Investigators at the crash scene October 20 said bottles of medicine were found in the wreckage. The lease agreement was signed by L&J president Lewis L. May Jr and Lynyrd Skynyrd tour manager Ron Eckerman. The advance check for the planes lease was signed by Eckerman and the band's lead singer, Ronny Van Zant, who died in the crash. It was Eckerman, who returned to his home in Florida this week after being hospitalized in McComb, who said that $1,100 was missing from his briefcase after it was recovered from the wreckage. Eckerman said he was carrying $88,743.58 in checks and $8,000 in cash on the flight. All of the checks and $6,900 in cash were returned to him by Sheriff Norman Travis in his hospital room last week. Several loose bills, most of them apparently scattered when a poker game aboard the plane was interrupted by the crash, were picked up by persons at the scene, but Eckerman said his money was securely locked in a briefcase and that someone had to pry the case to get the money out. That money was used to pay the group's travelling expenses while on tour, he said. Meanwhile, group manager Mike Kinnamon is seeking the return of several items allegedly taken from the wreckage. He specifically is looking for a guitar in an oversized, white guitar case. Above: Text and newspaper images from the Enterprise-Journal in McComb Mississippi, USA October 21, 1977 |
| TENNESSEE CONCERTS SEARCH ENGINE Search this website Website by Pat Adams. pat@tennesseeconcerts.com |
| Personal website only, by Pat Adams in Nashville TN, with the help of Jacquelyn Cooper in Mississippi |
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