Freebird - Lynyrd Skynyrd - Live 1977 Oakland Coliseum Stadium Official

Lynyrd Skynyrd Freebird 7 2 1977 Oakland Coliseum Stadium Official

On October 20, 1977, three days after releasing their album Street Survivors, Lynyrd Skynyrd performed at the Greenville Memorial Auditorium in Greenville, South Carolina, and boarded a Convair CV-240 airplane to take them to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where they were to perform at Louisiana State University. The plane ran out of fuel near the end of the flight.[2][6]

Upon realizing that the plane had insufficient fuel, the pilots attempted to navigate to McComb Airport, about 10 mi (16 km) northeast of the eventual crash site in Amite County, Mississippi but soon realized that the plane would not make it. As a last resort, they attempted an emergency landing in an open field about 300 yds (270 m) from where the plane eventually went down.[7] Despite their efforts, at approximately 6:52 pm[1] The plane skimmed about 100 yds (90 m) along the top of the tree line before smashing into a large tree and splitting into pieces near Gillsburg, Mississippi.

Early in the flight, witnesses recall that lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant was lying on the floor with a pillow, having been up most of the previous night and being in need of sleep. Several other passengers passed the time by playing cards. At some point the passengers became aware that something was wrong, and drummer Artimus Pyle recalls entering the flight deck and being told by the terrified captain, Walter McCreary, to go back and strap himself in. With the gravity of the situation clear, the passengers sat in silence, some praying.[8] Guitarist Gary Rossington recalled hearing what sounded like hundreds of baseball bats hitting the plane's fuselage as it began striking trees. The sound got louder and louder until Rossington was knocked unconscious; he awoke sometime later on the ground with the plane's door on top of him.[9]

Keyboard player Billy Powell's nose was nearly torn off in the crash as he suffered severe facial lacerations and deep lacerations to his right leg. Decades later, he gave an account of the flight's final moments on a VH1 Behind The Music special, stating that Van Zant, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown violently from his seat and died immediately when his head hit a tree as the plane broke apart. Some elements of Powell's version of the events, however, have been disputed by both drummer Pyle and Van Zant's widow Judy Van Zant Jenness, who posted the autopsy reports on the band's website in early 1998, while confirming other aspects of Powell's account.[10] Pyle suffered broken ribs but managed to leave the crash site and notify a nearby resident.[6]

Van Zant, guitarist/vocalist Steve Gaines, backing vocalist Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, Captain McCreary, and First Officer Gray all died in the crash.[2][3][4] Most of the survivors had been seated toward the back of the plane.[7] The survivors, all of whom were seriously injured, were transported to different hospitals for treatment and were not immediately aware of the fatalities. Rossington, for instance, was not informed until days later by his mother in the hospital that Van Zant had been killed