I worked Crash Recovery in the Navy for a Year , and I have never seen a Crash as Bad as that the whole time I worked in that Job. It is a Miracle that anybody got out alive !
One of the survivors recalled seeing fuel being dumped when the pilot realized they were going to crash to avoid the plane and crash site from being consumed by flames.
This band was cursed more than they deserved. So many tragic events in their lives. I will never ever forget racing around town in my fast cars and hot ladies with Lynyrd Skynyrd blasting from my powerful and loud car stereo. The way they hung together and practiced in garages and living rooms brings back so many fond memories. That's the way real bands were formed. The 70s were great and Lynyrd Skynyrd contributed to much of that greatness!!!
I bought their first album from a record club in 1973 while at Penn State, based purely on the description, hoping to discover another Allman Brothers Band. I took the album home to NJ to let my buddies hear it. One of my buddies borrowed it and I didn't get it back for months. I moved to Atlantic Beach in Jacksonville in 1974. When Second Helping came out. We were all hooked for life. When we lost them, a piece of my childhood died with them. To this day, it remains a landmark event in my life.
I remember that night vividly. I just turned 18. I was sitting at my moms kitchen table. Coloring a doodle art. (If anyone remembers them from back then.) A news report came on and told the country. I had just seen them in concert about 3 months before hand. My oldest daughter is named Tuesday, after their song Tuesday’s Gone. I just watched the documentary last night. Really good.
Then she passed away two years later just outside of where her children were buried in a car accident. She was buried next to them ! Such an absolute tragedy in to many ways !
The funny thing is, and we don't like to think this way, but we never know what we've been spared when we die young. Sometimes there's mercy in not being here.
It's amazing they are able to talk about it even after all these years. Such a shame. Goes to show, if you have a feeling something isn't right, pull the plug, no matter what's at stake.
Wait till what Artimus has put together for us, plus music that has the Lynyrd Skynyrd sound, but this music is every bit as good. He is a stand-up hero that this country should be very proud of. Served in the U.S. Marines, survived this, his third plane crash, crawled into the dead of night where there was no light, only to get shot, so he could get help for those injured and still onboard the plane. I salute you Artimus Pyle.
@@timtimbs1914 He did not get shot the farmer shoot warning shot into air. Artimus was in shock and pain, in middle of all that he thought he been shot, but the injury his shoulder came from plane crash.
Ronnie Van Zant wrote the songs without Ronnie there wouldn't be a Lynyrd Skynyrd....... Ronnie was a high quality person he cared about people his band and he had a good head on his shoulders a really nice guy...... Brilliant guy big heart nice guy why does God take out such high quality people.... Sad I cry when I think about Ronnie he was a gem RIP
They all helped write. A hippie from CA penned part of Sweet Home Alabama but L S died when Ronnie died. I saw them close to 15 times before the crash. A couple times in a nightclub in Nashville before they were super stars. I knew they would be big.
"If I leave here tomorrow Would you still remember me? For I must be traveling on now 'Cause there's too many places I've got to see. But, if I stay here with you, girl Things just couldn't be the same. 'Cause, I'm as free as a bird now And this bird you cannot change. Ronnie and the five others are certainly free as a bird now. 🕊️
God bless them all! I was just gonna say that when you said Steve Gaines passed it was a picture of Allen Collins. You may want to change that. God bless them it is a tragedy that any of them passed. Just think three of the best guitarists in southern rock well any rock was on that plane and one was lost. Steve rest in peace. Allen whom I believe passed in 1990 rest in peace. Mr Rossington so glad that you are still here, and get to hear you play what a talent.
My dad was in the business. We went to Mark Howard's house in 1987 for dinner. I wish I was old enough to have understood the gravity of it all at the time. Really good guy. Thanks for the books Mark. Sorry about your friends, our heroes.
I agree. I saw them as an opening band with ZZtop a couple years ago. A dozen people and instruments onstage, lady back up singers , pianos, guitars, etc and ZZ made a much bigger and better sound with 3 men and 3 instruments.
Cassie and Steve's brother died a few months ago. What a tragedy that was for his family and then to lose his mother near the cemetery visiting her kids :( that poor guy lost his whole family too soon because of someone else's negligence.
Has there ever been a better name than Ronnie Van Zandt? What a voice. I once thought I was smart, then I heard “Tuesday’s Gone,” and I realized what true genius was.
I'm Stephen i love lynyrd sky nyrd. W;hen second helping came out istoped the air guitar 🎸 and and. Went to school to go catch the bus home to play along with side one over and over my mom got me a nice guild electric so i got all rythym parts on one side then came leads me bloody fingers were getting harder n calises on em side 2 was easier i dropped out of that damredneck school to learn everything skynyrd came out with I'm membering Street surviors icalled a player matt Quinn and said matt can u come buy them Steve Gaines licks in I know a little shit ithink igot arthritis man iam having trouble in the intro. He laughed and said im on my way get yur peace pipes ready and a 6er of tall malt licour man he showed me all them licks Steve Gaines Allen :Gary sh@$€%= Who's ed (king man its 2o19 November in 2009 in Nashville I wrote ma ma love s. Skynyrd with !Darren Taylor on vocals hank jr s [old drummer assstompin brian Barnett i did all guitar]parts and bass )lynyrd skynyrd is more than a band more. Than a phase those people were beyond any substance music of them when i. Went through tragedy s. Of all types skynyrd did the magical healings no others could :god bless them and tell them i love em and watch over there loved ones Gary ricky sparky Johnny the rest of the best we love you all
After hearing one of the rescuers say he use to leave a beer at the site. Makes me wonder if those were the cans people found there instead of beer cans the band had
I agree. My family dates back to many years ago to a tiny town just north of you. What I have seen of the people from there was not only loving people, but there were 4 to 6 men that were first on the scene that got the injured off the plane and to the hospital. Because of this not one person that was injured lost their lives. Now go see one of the most wonderful monuments in black granite they have erected there at the site. Beyond words, it is so beautiful. Those are the kind of people that make us all very proud of this country. Thank you to each and every one of you. God bless you.
And many have said that he’s just making money off of the Skynyrd name. He doesn’t want anyone else to make money but he does tours of Jax for money. Let them all rest in peace for God sake. He has a ton of videos on RU-vid. Pick one and you’ll hear all you need to hear in just that one video. Nothing new
God give special blessings to the first responders! To come upon such devastation and still having the presence of mind to tend to the victims and the deceased in a kind and efficient way. They probably suffer from unsettling dreams still. They are the real rock stars indeed! Ronnie would totally agree and totally love these people for their kind assistance. That is real. Very well covered, Whitney! Thank you!
This is all so true. I am so happy you said this. You may enjoy something that I found. Those same people have now put up a beautiful black granite monument that you must see to believe. They never stop giving. The people in that area of the country are just raised that way. Kind, caring and loving individuals. May God bless them, you, and your family.
The first responders and the rescuers they just did an amazing job. Had they not more would have died.Very caring people who stepped up in this horrible situation. And the hospital. They too were really on top of their game they too saved many. When you hear this story it kills you inside to see the loss of these six people. It just is a shame it happened. But also you are thinking of how these rescuers and responders along with the hospital came together and were very effective. They had deep compassion and that males you see the other side of this. They were great that night and saved more from dying. This not only was a loss for music but a tragedy that could have been avoided.
On one of the shows about it, a man says, "I seen the fuel coming out" And that he believed it was the pilot dumping the fuel so that a fire would not occur after.
i met artimus pyle in summer of 1978 at a bar called papa docs , he was playing in a band with a friend or relative, i cant remember.he was just filling in. he was a nice guy. he wouldnt talk about any of the accident or the Lynard Skynard band,and most people respected that. ive been to whole lot of concerts in my younger days but never got to see Lynard Skynard .It was nice meeting Artimus
Seven days before my eighteenth birthday the crash happened. To this day it is still one of this old Georgia boy's saddest memories. R.I.P. to each of the families that lost loved ones. Thank you to Lynyrd Skynyrd for the timeless music that won't ever die.
I very happy they had the chance to pray before the plane crashed. For the ones that died it’s comforting to know they are With our Father in Heaven. God heard them. We must remember not everyone had the chance to ask for help or forgiveness, so we must be prepared and follow Christ to the best of our ability each day. If it sounds like I’m preaching I only trying to inform people. Don’t want to angry anyone but got to tell it like it is. ☮️
I was overseas in the navy at the time of the crash. My friends and i loved the band from jump and they were really hitting their stride with street survivors. We were devastated to hear the news. A big part of my musical history gone. ❤
I saw Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1977 at the Mile HIgh Stadium in Denver...will never forget it...7 bands and they were last, when they were singing Free Bird an airplane flew right over the stadium and the whole stadium was on it's feet screaming their fool heads off, never knew if that was part of the act or just happened, but the concert was the most memorable of all the dozens of concerts I had been too, even better than the Stones in the same stadium, cocaine was everywhere, people were giving it away in the infield to total strangers..it was almost like a Woodstock atmosphere.... it was like the end of an era....
Omg! My Sister and her BF were at that show. I was 7 in 1977 lol. I have told my Sister so many times how lucky there were to have seen them with RVZ. I saw them for the reunion tour at Red Rocks. And it was very sad how they had RVZ's hat on the mic stand. It was a good show. Such nice ppl always at Country or South Blues Rock shows. They were huge when the crash happened and are absolute legend now. But I just always think about how big they would have become had the crash not happened. Certainly they would have reached the status of the very best classic rock bands of all time. They reaches that anyway after the crash. But they absolutely were musically worthy of that status when they all were alive and playing together before the crash. I wish I could have seen them before that. I wish that awful day never happened.
Frank is right, in those minutes, seconds you're taking in so much of what's happening. Then impact, shock, injury pain, seeing your comrades deceased or near death, and crashing in the thick woods. I can't imagine how any of them can recount the details.
I have always maintained that All Aircraft ( fixed wing) should have back up rotary fans built into the wings near the middle of the Wing with the express purpose of getting a plane down in one piece it could be powered by a ram air generator charge by the air flow around it. Kind of like the old A-6 Intruder emergency Generators
I just watched Street Survivors, it really affected me it felt like you were with them on that plane. I saw them twice in Pgh Pa. The first time we won tickets from WDVE second time we saw them was at Three Rivers Stadium. Never will I ever forget these guys.
Thank you to those brave men who survived to tell their stories. I didn’t have a dry eye and also to those who helped save their lives. It’s because of all of you that these beautiful stories are heard ❤️
Mark Frank backs up Artemis's story about running for help. I know some of the guys said that Artemis did not but Mark says right here that he followed him.
I was an aircraft troubleshooter in the Navy. I had to know mechanics, hydraulics, and electronics If the plane had problems right before take off It was my responsibility to make a quick repair or determine if the plane was safe to fly. There is no way I would have let that plane take off. it was doomed from the beginning.
My sister and I...both just wept ...they announced it on the radio station ..a station out of Oxford MS..who played blues and and rock n roll ..all I could think of was the reality of Ronnie calling himself the Mississippi Kid ..and how he had said he'd die with his boots on....🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯🎵..if I leave here tomorrow would you still remember me ?..🎵....Damn straight . We will....we will never ever forget you ...Ronnie , Steve , Cassie, Dean..and even the 2 pilots ..☮✝️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️🌠
Till this day i still love there songs like free as a bird i was only 20 when it happened but i remember on the TV miss Ronnie n his band ill never forget their concerts or the crash RIP guys
FREEDOM SAVETHEKIDS but there’s two separate pilots and a whole team of staff on the plane too it’s more likely you’d die getting hit buy a drunk driver
Or just not got back on that plane in South Carolina damn it!!!!!so much music stole from us what couldve been just think they had only recorded 6 years
@@slabbusterrtr7690 Did you really just say that? Your concern for the Music that was stolen from you ? Good Lord we are talking about peoples children parents and friends and siblings who are gone.. LIVES
NTSB Findings: "PROBABLE CAUSE: Fuel exhaustion and a total loss of power on both engines due to crew inattention of fuel supply. Contributing to the fuel exhaustion were inadequate flight planning and an engine malfunction of undetermined nature in the right engine which resulted in a higher than normal fuel consumption."
Plus there is more. Questions that were never answered. The pilots did a fuel dump to prevent a fire during the crash. What would the FAA find in the fuel tanks? Nothing, empty, because the fuel had been dumped. The engine on the right had problems on the flight before this, and a mechanic was waiting in Dallas on them so he could service the plane. What was the mechanic told needed attention? Only a few minutes after the engine on the right flamed out, the engine on the left also experienced a flameout, yet there was still fuel in the tanks. Two engines both out within minutes of each other. Why? Should the FAA open this case and review it again with the eyewitnesses that have now come forward. Next week this will be our questions to the FAA. Reopen the case and take a look and hear the onboard eyewitness accounts of what they saw. All we want is the truth no matter how it comes out. Many other factors come into play like the weight of the plane, how much fuel was in the fuel tanks before the 400 gallons was added, when was this plane last certified to fly, what liability did the J & J Co. have as to the safety of this plane. Too many questions for us to just allow this to be the final findings. Maybe in the end they can prove their current findings, but this just does not add up. All we ask for is the truth.
Hopefully aviation laws have become more stringent since as a result of 'accidents' like this, tho' too late for this 1, sadly. Was it a fuel dump, or accidental loss while trying to divert to left engine? Or unforeseen leak; Rossingtom said “The plane ran out of gas. There was a leak, so when the pilot cut out the one engine to use the other it had been spewing fuel. Nobody knew that. You can’t blame the pilots; they obviously wouldn’t have flown if they knew what was gonna happen.”
@@TheMercury-13 Mr. Rossington knows nothing about aviation. The NTSB found no fuel leak. There was a known malfunctioning carburetor on the right engine. 2. The one change in FAA procedure was to require charter leases to be filed 24 hour prior to first operation. This to establish responsibility for operation and maintenance. 3. All the regulation cannot stop unscrupulous or negligent pilots/operators/owners from doing stupid and illegal things. 4. This flight should never have taken off without repairing the engine.
It took me quite awhile to take the full impact of the news. I tried to be strong and carry on, only to be plagued by panic attacks later for not fully acknowledging my grief. In my heart ❤ forever
John Kyle hey man don’t be a fucking dick!!! You have no fucking clue what this lady went through. Just take her word and move along. But please remember... DO NOT BE A DICK!!! DICK.
My husband n I were in Baton Rouge in April, on our way home to Alabama n we stopped in Mcomb to visit the memorable. It was so humbling. It is worth the trip!
I was a fan of LS from the first time I ever heard one of their songs, long before they ever became popular or famous. Back when no one would give them a start.... Denver CO welcomed them as Marshal Tucker forerunner and Freddie King in LS's first major concert anywhere. Denver gave them a chance when no one else would. I was in that concert. I basically lied to my mom to go to that concert and i never regretted it!! A 20-minute rendition of Freebird that was transcendental!! There were no words. There was never a band like them before and there will never be a band like them again. Its been really hard trying to listen to the re-make of LS. I know.... they all have their story and they are survivors.... but in my heart there is no one like the original.
Great report. Good to see these guys & hear their remembrances. Missed the 1977 tour though I was within easy distance living in Clearwater FL then. First 2 gigs were the Bayfront Center in St. Pete & Lakeland Civic Center an hour away. Both sold out of course. Figured I’d catch them coming around again. Wasn’t until the 1987 Tribute Tour though. They played “Free Bird” as an instrumental with Ronnie’s hat on mic stand under a spotlight. Everybody sang & quite a few wept. My God, it was a powerful thing to witness... as it built to Alan’s solo everybody roared “...freeee biiirrrddd yeah!” Of course Alan was paralyzed from his wreck & Randall Hall played his parts... you had to be there.
All you guys are my heroes ... My all time favorite band of all the bands I love ... Thanks for everything you were and still are a big part of my life your music is something else man Rock and Roll
With the publication year of 2018, this is much more recent than other videos I have seen. If this filming was done ca. 2018 then that farm owner who took over after the Motes must have finally acquiesced to allowing the crash site to be visited, so a big thanks to them for that.
They started the first leg of the Street Survivors tour at the Hollywood Sportatorium in Hollywood, Fl on October 15th '77. A friend of mine had invited me to go but I declined because I was going to see Kansas and ARS on October 29th. So I told my friend I would see them the next time they were in town. Five days later, which was my 16th birthday, about nine 0'clock that night, another friend called to tell me about the crash. I was totally shocked! When I went to see Kansas and ARS, it was as though a black cloud of grief and sadness hung over the crowd. And ARS lead singer addressed the crowd through tears and made some comments about Ronnie and the band. I wish to God I wouldn't have declined my friend's invitation to go see them. They were such a great band.
I thought planes were never allowed fly off the airport grounds until the plane was "topped off" with fuel, at every stop, at every airport? And would be grounded until those tanks were. How many years has it been? And i still cannot find adequate reason for is this crash. Probably never will. Senseless tragedy.
@@joleneloveland2942 the pilots are responsible for their plane. There are no ramp managers grounding planes for lack of fuel or any other mechanical neglect.
I am so glad to have seen the original crew in concert. It was an all I thought it would be. When I saw the news on TV about the crash, I recall thinking, it's a mistake. For me, it was as hard-hitting as when I heard the news on TV that Elvis died.
To me, thats what was so weird about it. People were still getting over Elvis' death in August then this happened in October. Another bad year for music, like 59.
