Lynyrd Skynyrd had just released their fifth album, when its members got on a Convair 240 plane flying out from Greenville, South Carolina to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for a tour.
The band had recently established themselves as American music staples when on this day in 1977, Lynyrd Skynyrd has ended up in a tragic crash that took the lives of some of its members.
Today, in commemoration of 45 years after the accident, here are five things you should know about the ill-fated group:
1. Aerosmith Seems To Have Dodged A Bullet
At the time Lynyrd Skynyrd was eyeing the Convair CV-240 plane, Aerosmith was also looking for a replacement for Douglas C3, and was interested in it.
However, after an inspection by Aerosmith's chief of flight operations manager Zuck Buker, the band has decided to pass on the plan due to some subpar standards.
Ranker says that Buker also cited that the pilots were seen exchanging bottles of Jack Daniel the day of the inspection, which is why they decided to dismiss the leasing services.
Months later, the same dissatisfaction was raised by Lynyrd Skynyrd's members, but the band still flew with the plane regardless.
2. Lead Singer Overruled Members' Apprehension
According to History Collection, most of the band did not even want to board the plane after the observations, but leader Ronnie Van Zant forced them to go.
The band's father figure insisted on getting on the plane, not wanting to cancel tour dates, and appealed to his co-members to continue the trip saying "If your time is up, your time is up."
3. Problems Have Been Occurring Left And Right
Prior to the crash, the band allegedly saw sparks coming out of the plane's engine despite a smooth take off and two and a half hours of safe flying.
However, one of the passengers noticed gasoline spraying out of the plane's engine, and this was immediately followed by a health in the right engine propeller.
The plane started to jerk violently as the left engine failed as well, causing the plane to glide several thousand feet before the accident, History Collection writes.
4. Pilots Still Tried To Land The Plane
When the plane engines started failing, the pilots refused to declare an emergency, claiming that the Convair was just in need of more fuel, Simple Flying says.
Terrified, the pilots attempted to make an emergency landing since they would have not reached the nearest airport, but they ran out of fuel mid air.
The plane stopped abruptly, and the people onboard suffered fatal consequences when the plane crashed in a wooded area near town, History recounts.
The crash killed 20 people, including singer Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and his sister Cassie Gaines who was a showgirl traveling with Lynyrd Skynyrd.
5. Weird Foreshadowings Surround The Accident
The gruesome accident is surrounded by conspiracy until this day, as fans claim that "Street Survivors," Lynyrd Skynyrd's last album was a foreshadowing of the band's fate.
According to Rock Pasta, the original cover of the album showed members of the group standing among burning buildings.
Jo Jo Billingsley, one of the showgirls, also claimed to have premonitory dreams where she saw what was going to happen, Van Zant had always claimed that he would not make it to 30.
Van Zant died in the accident at 29.
Through struggle and strife, the music of Lynyrd Skynyrd lives on, and almost five decades since the plane crash, the band's influence remains in the southern rock genre.
