The Tragedy of Lynyrd Skynyrd

“Angel of darkness is upon you . . . the smell of death surrounds you.” — “That Smell” by Lynyrd Skynyrd; recorded in the summer of 1977 in Doraville, Georgia. One of the last songs Ronnie Van Zant wrote

On October 19, 1977, Lynyrd Skynyrd finished their show at South Carolina’s Greenville Memorial Auditorium and prepared to depart for their next gig in Baton Rouge, Louisiana the following day. This was their fourth gig into what looked to be the act’s most successful tour yet, a lineup of 45 shows. Two days earlier, two separate yet momentous events had occurred.

The first was that the band’s epic “Street Survivors” album, their fifth, was released and had gone gold. It showcased the guitar and vocal talents of Steve Gaines, who had joined Skynyrd a year earlier on the suggestion of his sister, Cassie, who was a backup singer.

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The second was that 10-foot flames had been observed shooting out of the right engine of the band’s 1947 Convair 240, leading most of the band and crew to be hesitant to climb aboard it on the evening of October 19.

The plane had been leased by Skynyrd’s manager Peter Rudge for three payments of $5,000, after the rock band Aerosmith had looked into the plane and then declined it. They were less than satisfied with the plane’s mechanics — and the pilots smoking and passing around a bottle of Jack Daniels in the cockpit did not please them. Either Rudge never saw such things or wasn’t concerned by them. In any event, he reportedly always flew commercial (first class), while the band was shuttled into an aircraft 30 years old (and not properly maintained.) (To be fair to Rudge, Skynyrd had a bad reputation on most privately chartered planes, which necessitated the loan or purchase of an aircraft.)

Plans were made for the Convair to be looked over in Baton Rouge, as well as checking into a more-appropriate Learjet following the trip.

Cassie Gaines was so against taking the Convair out of Greenville that she purchased a ticket on a commercial airline — but reluctantly backed out, as she didn’t want to go without her brother, Steve. Keyboardist Billy Powell recounted later that the wives and families of the bandmates did not want them to take that final…