Musicians Killed in Aircraft Accidents

[Doc]

Musicians only. How many can we come up with? The earliest I can come up with is Glenn Miller. Orchestra conductor. He died in a Norseman just off the departue end of Biggen Hill (I think) on his way to France. They had always assumed he went down in the English Channel, but they found the wreckage just a few years ago.
So, Glenn Miller is 1
Everybody only gets to name 1. Thems da rules.

A quick edit. There was a Norseman found in England the army claimed had the serial number of Miller's airplane. However rumors abound that he could have been a spy shot by the Germans to dying of a heart attack in a Frenh whorehouse! But I'm still going with death by Norseman!

[YYZSaabGuy]

Buddy Holly is 2..........
February 3, 1959: Clear Lake, Iowa.

[flyinthebug]

*Edit to stick to the rules of the thread lol*
Ok #3 Ritchie Valens...same crash in 1959. I think it was a twin engine Aztec (PA23-250) The pilot pushed the weather and all paid with their lives. They called the crash "The night the music died" as there was one other famous person onboard that snowy night.

[JMACK]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Ray_Vaughan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_S ... ay_Vaughan

[lownslow]

Also with Holley and Valens was the Big Bopper, and it was a Bonanza they chartered IIRC.

Obviously the band members who didn't make it on the airplane were sent on the tour bus, I believe using some kind of lottery to decide which way they traveled. One of the airplane passengers remarked to a band member, "I hope that bus of yours freezes," to which the band member replied, "I hope your plane crashes," a remark which would haunt him the rest of his life.

LnS.

[Colonel Sanders]

Jim Croce - 20 Sep 1973: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Croce#Death

upon takeoff the (Beech 18) did not gain
enough altitude to clear, and the pilot did not
maneuver to avoid, a pecan tree at the end
of the runway, which investigators said was
the only tree for hundreds of yards

I remember when it happened. That was when I
was learning to fly the Maule at Toronto Island.

[grimey]

Ronnie Van Zant, Convair CV-300 crashed due to fuel exhaustion.

[Shiny Side Up]

edit to play by the rules

Stan Rogers (DC-9)

One of the airplane passengers remarked to a band member, "I hope that bus of yours freezes," to which the band member replied, "I hope your plane crashes,"

That band member was Waylon Jennings.

[GyvAir]

John Denver. Not on a jet plane, but some kind of homebuilt, as I recall.

[Meatservo]

Listen to the song "air crash museum" by the Dead Milkmen. I think they get just about all of 'em up to just before SRV.

[lilflyboy262]

Aaliyah.

Died in a C402B, Was 320kg overweight and an extra pax on board.

[Siddley Hawker]

Jim Reeves, July 31 1964, Beech Debonair.

[toelessjoe]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Rhoads#Death

Randy Rhodes. 55 Bonanza. Killed by a dumb fu**. Fortunately he had the good sense to die as well.

- Toeless.

[iflyforpie]

*double post*

[iflyforpie]

Steve Gaines, also from Lynyrd Skynyrd in the same Convair crash as Ronnie Van Zant.

Allegedly, one of the greatest Southern Rock bands of all time got a nice dose of Southern Hospitality when a local Mississippi resident shot the wounded drummer Artimus Pyle in the shoulder as Pyle was flagging him down for help.

[Waldo Peppar]

Ricky Nelson., 31 Dec 1985.....on a DC-3 formerly owned by Jerry Lee Lewis .....on board fire, four perished huddled by cockpit door , the two pilots escaped out of the cockpit after crash landing.

[CLguy]

Reba McEntire's entire band.

[jump154]

Paul Jeffreys, Pan am 103, Lockerbie. 21 Dec 1988.

(Strangely according to wikipedia, the 4 Tops and John Lydon all missed the flight)

[Colonel Sanders]

John Denver. Not on a jet plane, but some kind of homebuilt

That was unique because the musician was PIC. And fortunately,
sole occupant.

It was a Burt Rutan pickle fork. John Denver went flying - when his
pilot certificate was suspended, for a DUI - with not much fuel, and
when he ran a tank dry at low altitude, he was unable to reach the
inaccessible fuel selector valve to switch tanks, and died in the
ensuing forced approach.



Really sad.

[bobo]

Patsy Cline in a 172? into the side of a mountain.

[FlyGy]

Paul Jeffreys, Pan am 103, Lockerbie. 21 Dec 1988.

(Strangely according to wikipedia, the 4 Tops and John Lydon all missed the flight)

So did my brother.

[Shiny Side Up]

That was unique because the musician was PIC.

Nope, Jim Reeves was also the PIC of his Beech Debonair when he elected to demonstrate the 178 second rule. He unfortunately was not the sole occupant.

according to the tower tape, Reeves ran into the heavy rain at 4:51 p.m. and crashed only a minute later, at 4:52 p.m.

Well less, which I guess brought the average down somewhat. Really unfortunate since it was all about checking out a piece of real estate.

Patsy Cline in a 172? into the side of a mountain.

No, Cline died in the same manner as Reeves, though not as the PIC. It was also in a Piper Commanche. Non instrument rated pilot entered IFR conditions. All in a hurry to get somewhere. Her pilot managed to do somewhere under 13 minutes before crashing, bringing up the average slightly.

[P-40]

Mark Caporal. Drummer for the great 80's Canadian band Eye Eye. Died in a glider crash (1990) in Ontario when the PIC suffered cardiac arrest. Strangely, Mark had his PPL and was learning to fly gliders but was unable to safely land the glider he perished in. Perhaps some here may have better recollection of the accident. I was and still am a big Eye Eye fan.

[Siddley Hawker]

Buddy Holly is 2..........
February 3, 1959: Clear Lake, Iowa.

[azimuthaviation]

Kyu sakamoto, died on Japan airlines flight 123, very famous in Japan and had a bit of a breakthrough hit sukiyaki, translated and remade by several artists. Incredibly brave and skillful pilots on board too. Fought the whole way down...