cassie gaines cause of death cassie gaines cause of death

Billy Powell, the bands keyboardist, received extensive facial lacerations and a broken right knee. I told him that it was the strongest thing I had seen a man do.. ", But with no experience he morphed from a dairy farmer to a rescuer. Where Did We Find This Stuff? So, with little hesitation I decided I should join the dance. When he was sober, he was a fair and kind person. She died from excessive bleeding as her throat had been cut from ear to ear. Headline from a local newspaper reporting the crash. He was known as Papa Ronnie. Even long after she is gone, her legacy as one of the most talented singers remains. Pilots Walter McCreary and William Gray were fully aware of a fuel shortage before the flight took off. Powell also claimed that Ronnie Van Zant's head had been smashed. Artimus has had many ups and downs since then, several incarcerations, and a huge falling out with Gary. At the beginning of the flight, all was well, amid high tensions. The original cover was restored after the 30th anniversary of the album. Band members Artimus Pyle and Billy Powell entered the cockpit to get an idea of what was happening. Mote recalls the first thing he saw was a bloody hand sticking out from the wreckage. Rescue vehicles on the ground found no direct path in sight. Everyone knows him as "Governor." Lynyrd Skynyrd disbanded after the airplane tragedy. Assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, the pilot, and co-pilot Walter McCreary and William Gray also died. I was just taken aback by it " but then his friend continued, "don't worry, Lynyrd made it out.". Cassie Gaines died on the 20 th of October, 1977 in a plane crash at Gillsburg, Mississippi when she was only 29 years old. Some of the guys were playing poker. The death of Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and Cassie Gains of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd was a massive blow to many. Small and cramped, it still felt better than lift-off of the Convair CV-240. Birth Name: Cassie LaRue Gaines Occupation: Rock Singer Place Of Birth: Missouri Date Of Birth: January 9, 1948 Date Of Death: October 20, 1977 Cause Of Death: N/A Ethnicity: White Nationality: American Cassie Gaines was born on the 9th of January, 1948. Especially Artimus, who had three broken ribs and multiple large cuts. The crash killed singer/songwriter Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist/vocalist Steve Gaines, vocalist Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray. Mote was putting out square bales of hay for the cattle when he heard what sounded "like a car crash on a gravel road." Billy Powell, the bands keyboardist, received extensive facial lacerations and a broken right knee. Rescuers look over the wreckage of the 1977 Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash. He is best known as a guitarist and backing vocalist with rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1976 until his death in the October 1977 airplane crash that claimed other band members and crew. Laying on the ground, still alive for only a moment, to slowly bleed to death. One of them being completely decapitated. Shining from what seemed to be a small house on a dairy farm. As the bulletins continued, they became more descriptive: "Tractors were pulling ambulances across a creek" was one exaggerated quote I remember so well. The album cover depicted the band members in an alleyway covered in flames. Artimus Pyle and Gary Rossington are the only two members alive today from the crash. 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. A design that would most likely lead to the infamous crash. The tail section broke off, the cockpit broke off and buckled underneath, then both wings broke off. A Convair CV-240, similar to the one in the crash. We always wondered why, you know. The surviving members would grapple with this throughout their days. I knew my camera had stories to tell. The pilots would have to make an emergency landing. Pyle did confirm (from Pyle's interview on the The Howard Stern Show on Sirius Satellite Radio, Feb. 12, 2007) that Van Zant's cause of death was trauma to the head caused by equipment, such as Betamax tapes and Trinitrons, flying forward in the plane's cabin. It is reported that the pilots whose eyes were full of terror, told them to go back to their seats and prepare for impact. Van Zant, Steve and Cassie Gaines, Kilpatrick and the pilots were laid in a temporary morgue at a local high school gymnasium. All of the seats were ripped from the frame of the plane, landing in the front section of the crash. Four of the passengers were killed including bandleader and lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines and assistant tour manager Dean Kilpatrick. Photo: Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader. After a shorter-than-normal day of bow hunting, he received a phone call about a plane crash in the area. Dwain Easley still lives on the east side of the crash site. Powell's nose had been nearly ripped from his face after crashing head first through a table. The band buckled in. 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. Mote fired a warning shot in the air. Deceased people hanging from trees, the other survivors moaning for help of any kind, and completely surrounded by a black swamp whose canopy is blocking the only light that is trying so desperately to shine through. But sadly when he drank, which was quite often, his demeanor and character qualities changed drastically. If a band couldn't play Skynyrd, they didn't get hired for the school dance. Gary Rossington, one of the bands guitar players, had suffered two broken arms, a broken leg, a punctured stomach and liver. Dean Kilpatrick, the bands manager, lay dead and covered in blood. A costly mistake at 9,000ft or so. As the small band of brothers grew, the conversation grew lively but stayed reverent. Crying, praying, and counting the dead to see who they would never hug, play music with, and enjoy company with again. Its many hit songs include "Freebird," "Sweet Home Alabama," "Gimme Three Steps" and "Simple Man.". After I led him to the downtown McComb offices, I returned home, developed my film in a clumsy bathroom darkroom and went to sleep. Marc Frank remembers seeing complete and total despair. She was sick and would meet up with the band in Arkansas to continue the tour. Van Zant, Steve and Cassie Gaines, Kilpatrick and the pilots were laid in a temporary morgue at a local high school gymnasium. Two of them were crew members, pilot Walter McReary and co-pilot William Gray, the rest were band members and roadies. "They stopped, straight back there," he said, and pointed to the tree line a quarter mile across open hay fields and woods. As soon as it seemed that the worst of the flight was passing, the true nightmare was about to set in for Lynyrd Skynyrd and the crew aboard. 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. Dean Kilpatrick, the bands manager, lay dead and covered in blood. On October 20, 1977, they would board a flight bound for Louisiana that would crash in Gillsberg, Missippi and claim the lives of band members Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, along with Pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray. The singer died in the arms of the surviving band's keyboardist Billy Powell. Where Did We Find This Stuff? The band would be marked for strife as just before their inaugural tour, Allens wife would bleed to death due to a miscarriage. He had known Easley Creek since his youth. I'm still not sure why. Both of which helped the album climb to the No. On several occasions, the latter shined through. Ronnie Van Zant was just more than the bands main songwriter, frontman, and singer. "I'd never seen anything like that," he said. McDaniel was eager to join me. "I had expertise on what to do and growing up in Amite County, Mississippi didn't hurt. With my camera at the ready, the translator and I stood watch on the prow of the brightly colored wooden boat as we plowed the exotic coastline. Wilkeson suffered severe internal injuries, including a punctured lung, and had most of his teeth knocked out. Access the best of Getty Images with our simple subscription plan. With the dust settled from a plane crash that would make a small Mississippi town famous, everything that surrounded the few conscious and able survivors were completely horrific and getting darker by the second. 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. 5 spot, it was the bands first No. Martin said she then, "called 911, or 0, or whatever we called back then.". It was the last flight of Lynyrd Skynyrd: Oct. 20, 1977, the night they . All reality had been broken and none of the surviving members would ever be the same or view life the same again. We were all fans. He was a walking treasure trove of names, facts and figures. Cassie Larue Gaines was an American singer. Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines, along with backup singer Cassie Gaines (Steve's older sister), assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray died. However, it is believed that the pilots were trying to transfer oil from one engine to another when they accidentally jettisoned the fuel instead. He then assembled a convoy of trucks and four-wheelers to locate the crash site and rescue the survivors. memorial page for Cassie LaRue Hatfield Gaines (26 Nov 1926-15 Feb 1979), Find a Grave Memorial ID 37010431, citing Jacksonville Memory . 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. I obviously didn't know what I was doing. 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." He had been impaled by a part of the fuselage and it pushed through his body and projected out of his back. I marked my calendar and made arrangements. The rest of the group had no idea at the time that they would never see the face of Ronnie again. I would like to think that only one grave robber was involved, but so many items were missing that I have to believe otherwise. It was as if they were back in Noahs time and all but a select few were stricken with greed of mankind and the chance to capitalize on an easy opportunity. I began the classic guitar lick. ", "He came home covered in blood," said his wife, Lola. Lead vocalist and founding member of the southern rock band, Ronnie Van Zant, also lost his life in the accident. I photographed their wedding. The Tragic Death Of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Ronnie Van Zant - Grunge.com Then on the other side, it was Allen in the middle of Dean and Cassie. Allen Collins kept moving on, eventually getting together with Gary Rossington to form the Rossington Collins Band. Artimus Pyle, drummer for the band, stops for a quick picture while en route to the next show. At least one member, background singer Cassie Gaines, had refused to board the flight, but was convinced against her better judgment. Wilkeson cheated death in 1977, surviving a crash of the band's chartered plane. "I knew she was gone. Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. 5 album. 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. On several occasions, the latter shined through. Pianist Billy Powell survived, but his nose was nearly torn off and he suffered severe facial lacerations. But soon, the helicopters that were heard and seen previously were on the scene. Laying on the ground, still alive for only a moment, to slowly bleed to death. He obtained his first guitar at about age 14. Losing daylight, the pilots desperately looked for an open field or some kind of saving grace. She was brought up in Miami, Florida, alongside her brothers, Bob and Steve. Ultimate Classic Rock What Happened to the Survivors of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash? Photo: thetv.info. Rudge chartered three planes for loved ones to identify the bodies. Their lyrics were raw and fresh - honest and simple. His first impression was, "What is a bunch of hippies doing on an airplane? Cassie was buried in Orange Park, Florida, together with her brother, Steve Gains. He needed to use their darkroom to get his photos out. Despite this faux pas, Powell has been on good terms with the remaining band members since the incident. It would take hours to remove the bodies of the dead and injured from the plane. Marc Frank, a 24-year-old roadie traveling with the band, noticed what seemed to be fuel spewing from the right engine. All reality had been broken and none of the surviving members would ever be the same or view life the same again. He suffered a heart attack while on break from tour. The album had a very controversial cover when released. Lynyrd Skynyrd did not plan on keeping the plane for long. Artimus has had many ups and downs since then, several incarcerations, and a huge falling out with Gary. Steve Gaines was killed instantly upon impact and his sister Cassie Gaines perished as well. she asked me as we talked. A few minutes later I was talking my way past a Mississippi State trooper. From left to right: Allen Collins, Ronnie Van Zant, And Gary Rossington. I quickly maneuvered free of a crumpled bumper and sped off. A little after an hour of trudging through a creek and at one point burrowing underneath a barbed wire fence they found themselves staring at a small, dim light in the distance. Gary continues on the band with Ronnies brother, Johnny Van Zant, and guitarist Ricky Medlocke. Ronnie Van Zant was just more than the bands main songwriter, frontman, and singer. The pilots tried an emergency landing, but the plane crashed in the woods near Gillsburg in Mississippi. Almost as mysteriously, the full bottle is never seen again. Deceased people hanging from trees, the other survivors moaning for help of any kind, and completely surrounded by a black swamp whose canopy is blocking the only light that is trying so desperately to shine through. A chartered Convair 240, N55VM, carrying the band between shows from Greenville, South Carolina to LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana crashed near a forest in McComb, Mississippi. What injuries did Cassie Gaines die from? The plane had a thinner fuselage and smaller wingspan than any of its kind at the time. He pulled the lifeless body of Cassie Gaines up by her belt. He then assembled a convoy of trucks and four-wheelers to locate the crash site and rescue the survivors. Everyone just stood there helpless. Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash site draws a pilgrimage. In the beginning, the singer was reluctant to board the aircraft and had already bought another commercial flight ticket. They were scheduled to perform at the Louisiana State University. 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. From left to right: Allen Collins, Ronnie Van Zant, And Gary Rossington. Thats when most of the sober members of the band saw that the right propeller was no longer working. Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. The cockpit, tail, and wings completely ripped apart and the remaining cab lay desolate, in the shape of an L. The plane was simply not built well enough to even remotely handle the impact from the pine trees at roughly 90 mph. 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. But soon, the helicopters that were heard and seen previously were on the scene. He was only 39, but was no rookie. The rest of the group had no idea at the time that they would never see the face of Ronnie again. Here are 10 facts about Lynyrd Skynyrd and their fateful end. Headline from a local newspaper reporting the crash. 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. Freebird, Lynyrd Skynyrd, 10/20/77 and a notebook-sized rebel flag are deeply etched into the old bark. As we walked through the woods, Governor and I agree that nothing looked or felt the same. We were shocked, as were most others hearing the news. Steve Gaines was killed instantly upon impact and his sister Cassie Gaines perished as well. Lynyrd Skynyrd stops for a shot in 1973. After claiming his deceased son, Lacy Van Zant went to visit the other members of the band at the hospital. Cassie Gaines was a talented and committed backup singer for the Lynard Skynyrd music band until she died in a plane crash. Billy Powell would be in the new starting line-up of Lynyrd Skynyrd until his death in 2009. "Live on my brother. Mote recalls the first thing he saw was a bloody hand sticking out from the wreckage. There were 26 people on that fateful flight. The single "What's Your Name" reached #13 on the single airplay charts in January of 1978. Photo: obviousmag.org. He had already finished a film about the plane crash when Gary and several others stepped in and placed a lawsuit against the film to not be shown to the public. Photo: hu.wikipedia.com. The two men, for a while, were the only able-bodied persons present to help pull people from the wreckage. The tail section broke off, the cockpit broke off and buckled underneath, then both wings broke off. Totaled, decimated, and left for dead. Pyle, Frank, and Peden were met with hostility when they finally came up to Mote. 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. "I was well prepared with advanced trauma life support training," he said, "and (I was) a flight surgeon in the military. The aircraft crashed in a heavily wooded area during an attempted emergency landing. The band decided that once they had landed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, they would acquire a Learjet to replace the severely outdated 30-year-old plane. Especially Artimus, who had three broken ribs and multiple large cuts. On one occasion after a show, he approached Billy Powell who was the bands keyboard player, and punched him so hard in the mouth he knocked his two front teeth out. A tragic scene no person would ever wish to see or soon forget. Pyle, Frank, and Peden were met with hostility when they finally came up to Mote. The reason is that just a few short days before some of the band members had reported seeing sparks a large as 10ft shooting out of the right engine. The album had deeper meaning than most. The location sounded familiar so he asked them to repeat. His first band recorded its debut at Sun Recording Studio in Memphis, and later bands included RIO Smokehouse and Rusty Day. We love you!!!" I had not realized before, but he also was there that night. They were directing him to the property next to his family's farm. Van Zant, Steve and Cassie Gaines, Kilpatrick and the pilots were laid in a temporary morgue at a local high school gymnasium. Updated cover after plane crash, 1977The official NTSB accident report reads, "The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of this accident was fuel exhaustion and total loss of power from both engines due to crew inattention to fuel supply. Another 20 were injured, which included keyboardist Billy Powell, guitarists Gary Rossington and Allen Collins, drummer Artimus Pyle and bassist Leon Wilkeson. . There were 26 people on that fateful flight. One band member, JoJo Billingsly, was not on the flight. I was not there to be a gawker or to get in the way. Marc Frank recalled hearing both engines on the plane then within a matter of minutes, just air passing over the cabin. There have been several different theories as to the culprits of this . Performance & security by Cloudflare. Ultimate Classic Rock What Happened to the Survivors of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash? Thats when most of the sober members of the band saw that the right propeller was no longer working. I admired his ability to tell gripping stories with his camera, so I began considering a career change. I would like to think that only one grave robber was involved, but so many items were missing that I have to believe otherwise. It was as if they were back in Noahs time and all but a select few were stricken with greed of mankind and the chance to capitalize on an easy opportunity. Both Steve and Cassie Gaines were killed in the crash. The singer was approached by artist JoJo Billingsley, sent by the band's head and lead vocalist, Ronnie Van Zant. Marc Frank, a 24-year-old roadie traveling with the band, noticed what seemed to be fuel spewing from the right engine. I worked the scene for about 30 minutes before a veteran photographer approached me and asked if I knew where the local paper "The Enterprise Journal" was located. Cassie Gaines Death: and Cause of Death. With that cue, Governor took the honors and introduced everyone as Gabel's mouth gaped in disbelief. Sadly, it would end all to soon. Cassie Gaines was one of the band members who boarded the ill-fated flight. She said her husband grabbed his .243 hunting rifle, ran out and fired a warning shot. The 22-year-old had been outside bailing hay in the twilight when he heard the crash in the distance, which he assumed was a car skidding in gravel. But after seeing helicopter searchlights, he started to assume it was a jailbreak instead. Ronnies mother Marion refused to make the flight, after seeing a horrific plane crash of her own that killed 9 people. There were 24 passengers and two crew members aboard the aircraft. 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. 1977 Plane Crash | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Fandom 2023 Getty Images. Without wanting to cause alarm he thought to himself that maybe the pilots were trying to transfer fuel from one engine to another. 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. Even though she survived the actual crash, she eventually bled to death before the rescue team could reach her. Tangled by underbrush and the 20-foot creek, the rescue team had to act and think fast. All the surrounding land is privately owned and prominently marked with "No Trespassing" signs. But we were both enjoying it. How did Cassie Gaines of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd die? - Yen Some blame it on the planes age and poor design, weighing in on its smaller fuselage and compact wingspan. But sadly when he drank, which was quite often, his demeanor and character qualities changed drastically. Cassie Gaines Biography - Facts, Childhood, Family Life & Achievements On 20th October 1977, the Lynyrd Skynyrd boarded a chartered Convair CV-240 to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after their performance in Greenville, South Carolina. Everyone on the flight, except for Ronnie Van Zant, was feeling uneasy and restless. In 1977, lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Stevie Gaines and Gaines' sister, Cassie Gaines, were killed in a plane crash. These combinations of poorly built aircraft and less than acceptable crew quickly led to the dismissal of the band leasing out their services. He could hear the people moaning, pleading for help. These things don't happen here. Be the first to get hottest news from our Editor-in-Chief, Check your email and confirm your subscription. Everyone was afraid of riding on this plane. But as my wife and I watched the news bulletins flash on TV, it was a big deal. A towering beech tree stands sentinel on the west side of the creek, carefully carved with scores of knurled epithets. One such silent witness has found a way to talk. He later caused a controversy by giving a lurid account of Cassie Gaines' final moments on a VH1 Behind The Music special about the band, claiming that the backing singer's throat was cut from ear to ear and that she bled to death in his arms. For another crash scene veteran, this was also his first return visit in 38 years. The band was reaching fever pitch with its fans across the South and the nation. Tremendous physical pain overwhelmed the group as did mental exhaustion. Tremendous physical pain overwhelmed the group as did mental exhaustion. She is famous for starring in Saved by the Bell: The New Class, Goode Behavior, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. And it left Teresa Gaines a widow. That farm belonged to a young dairy farmer named Johnny Mote. Through the woods, yet another seeker appeared. The next morning I looked over them, made a few small prints and forgot about them. It sounded great to us. He drove down from his home in Oakland, Miss. The tree where the cockpit came to rest has long-since died. She was sick and would meet up with the band in Arkansas to continue the tour. It was Steve, and me, and Ronnie and I was in the middle of them. Cassie Gaines Lynard Skynyrd plane crash was one of the band's most challenging moments. The talented singer met her death at the young age of 29.