October 20th, 1977: Lynyrd Skynyrd Bandmates Killed In Plane Crash

45 years ago………Can you believe it? 45 years ago today (Oct. 20th), the plane carrying the band Lynyrd Skynyrd crashed on the Louisiana-Mississippi border……

Lead singer and founder Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and his sister, backup singer Cassie Gaines, were all killed on impact. 

The crash of the small Convair CV-240 passenger plane also claimed the lives of assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray. 

The plane was also being considered for use by Aerosmith at the time, but the band and their management deemed it unsafe.

The plane apparently ran out of fuel at 10,000 feet and went down in a wooded area. Experts speculate that is the reason the plane didn’t explode possibly killing all on-board, because it was out of fuel.

CLICK HERE/DANNYDUTCH.COM to read more about the horrible accident…………….

To hear a news report about the crash, check out the video below: (VIDEO: YouTube/ZZTopKotor)