The National Transportation Safety Board later ruled pilot error caused an "uncontrolled descent" that killed Gentry and pilot James Robinson, 30. Stewart was 42. Kennedy was 38. Read on to learn which mega stars' lives were cut short after they died in plane crashes. Sadly, the singer made the mistake of flying into more stormy weather and did not level his wings as he made a crucial turn. Allison won 19 races, including the 1992 Daytona 500. He was 53. After taking off from Dyersburg, Tennessee, into rain, clouds and darkening skies, the airplane crashed to earth in the countryside about 75 miles west of Nashville. She was alone in the rain forest for 11 days before she was found. The plane, a Cessna Citation 501, crashed into Percy Priest Lake around 11 a.m. shortly after taking off from Smyrna Airport bound for Palm Beach, Florida, NBC News reported. Per The Guardian, Michelle Dussan was only 6 years old in 1995 when she survived a plane crash that killed 151 people, including her mother, brother, and cousin. What films would Heath Ledger or Paul Walker nab the lead roles for if they didn't leave us so soon? From plane malfunctions to severe weather conditions to pilot error, these incidents show that tragedy can strike at any moment and with anyone, famous or not. Was frontman for the band Lynyrd Skynyrd. He is also the author of Maine Roads to Gettysburg, Searching for George Gordon Meade: The Forgotten Victor of Gettysburg, and other books. As perThe Washington Post, the National Transportation Safety Board reported that the crash was due to pilot error and bad weather, stating that the plane went down because of Kennedy's "failure to maintain control of the airplane during a descent over water at night, which was a result of spatial disorientation.". ), At Willie Nelson 90, country, rock and rap stars pay tribute, but Willie and Trigger steal the show, Concertgoer lets out a loud full body orgasm while L.A. Phil plays Tchaikovskys 5th, Dodgers dont need the long ball to finish sweep of Cardinals, Lakers vs. Warriors: What scouts expect in playoff series, School is in session as Sparks begin training camp, The Times final regular-season top 25 baseball rankings. The latter five victims were all from Brentwood and were members of Lara's church, according to News Channel 5. Dates come in no particular order. Died October 20, 1977, age 29, in a plane crash outside of Gillsburg, Mississippi when the plane ran out of fuel. Work overload. Prior to his death, Denver's pilot license had been suspended due to drunk driving charges. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. Sometimes, the remains are found nowhere near the rest of the plane. The aircraft was smaller than the one they took to the . BenCauley, a trumpeter for the Bar-Kays was the only survivor. Following the deaths of Joe and Gwen Lara in a May 2021 small plane crash, see the other famous names who were lost too soon in plane and helicopter accidents. Along the way, however, his plane disappeared over the English Channel. The more you fly, the more likely you are to be in a plane crash. Country singer Jim Reeves, 40, died in a crash similar to Clines, except in this case Reeves was flying his own airplane. Of the seven passengers, the only survivor was 20-year-old Ben Cauley, one of the musicians. Zobayan lost his sense of direction due to spatial disorientation, a phenomenon in aviation that is commonly referred to as "the leans," and crashed into the side of a hill. Mom-influencer convicted of lying about kids' attempted kidnapping, Texans conclude 2023 NFL Draft with 5 offensive players, 4 defensive, Vietnamese community remembers Fall of Saigon 48 years later. You remember the few cases where it happened and forget the many, many cases where it didn't. If there is any actual data that shows celebrities die more often in plane crashes than ordinary folks--and I'd have to see that to believe it--then it would be the obvious fact that celebrities have to travel by plane WAY more often than your average mope. Halladay won two Cy Young awards, pitched a perfect game and, in the postseason, pitched a no-hitter. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Boardreported that the pilot could not see through the thick fog that day. The singer, known for hits like Four Walls, took off from Batesville, Arkansas, on July 31, 1964, for a flight to Nashville. Why do so many celebrities and sports figures die from plane crashes? Even though the survival rate for plane crashes is quite high (via Ranker), this doesn't mean a person comes out unscathed if an accident does occur. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Pilot error was the most likely cause of the crash. Also killed was Lidle's flight instructor, from whom he had been taking lessons. However, contact with the pilot was lost ten minutes into the flight. The 53-year-old, who was best known in Banda music, died in a plane crash on Dec. 9, 2012. A Hall of Fame pitcher who played for the Toronto Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies, Roy Halladay crashed his IconA5 amphibious plane into the Gulf of Mexico near his Florida home. The helicopter had departed from the Alpine Valley Music Theater for a flight to Chicagos Midway Airport following Vaughans concert appearance with Eric Clapton and others. The cause of the crash was never determined. - Getty "The Day the Music Died" also claimed the lives of Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson, better . Shortly after taking off, the helicopter crashed into a nearby ski mountain. About 20 minutes after they left Dyersburg Regional Airport, the aircraft crashed. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. Cory Lidle, 34: The New York Yankees pitcher was killed Oct. 11, 2006, when his plane crashed into an apartment building in New York. According to The New York Times, the songstress and eight others boarded a small plane from the Bahamas' Abaco Islands after they wrapped up the music video for "Rock The Boat." After his death, Reeves was inducted into theCountry Music Hall of Fame in 1967. Jenni boarded a 10-seat airplane on December 9th, 2012. John Denver is remembered for his 1970s hits like "Take Me Home, Country Road," "Rocky Mountain High," and "Thank God I'm a Country Boy." On Christmas Eve 1971, 17-year-old Juliane Koepcke and her mother were flying over the Peruvian rain forest when the plane was hit by lightning (via BBC). For more information, please see our After learning the first three aid deliveries had been diverted by corrupt officials of the Anastasio Somoza regime, Clemente decided to accompany the fourth flight to make sure its cargo was delivered to earthquake victims. As soon as the helicopter took off, the pilot reported engine problems and decided to perform an autorotation. The country artist was also with his pianist Dean Manuel, who died in the crash. As historian Larry Jordan recalled toBillboard, "When he became successful, and he had the freedom to experiment, he began gravitating toward the pop world. Bad weather had been making the trip difficult and forced several stops along the way. The airplane took off from Twinwood Airfield, about 50 miles north of London, en route to Paris, where Major Miller, 40, was going to make arrangements to bring his Army band to the continent to entertain American troops. While flying is by no means a dangerous mode of travelling, plane crashes do occur from time to time which result in the deaths of numerous people each year in the most horrific manner. He crashed within seconds. According to Ranker, it's likely that passengers wouldn't know they're crashing. and "Try Again"earned her the nickname the "Princess of R&B," and by the age of 22, she already had three successful albums. Aviation accidents have been the cause of many famous fatalities (see the list Famous People who Died in Plane Crashes ). The New York Yankees catcher was practicing takeoffs and landings with friend Jerry Anderson and flight instructor Dave Hall, when Munson clipped a tree and then struck a tree stump. Mexican authorities confirmed that the wreckage of the small plane had been found in Nuevo Leon state, and there were no survivors among the seven people believed to be on board. Home life (sometimes associated with stress) Mental overload. The cause of the fire was believed to be a defective heater. Jenni Rivera was an influential Mexican-American banda singer. Members of the country rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd (Sweet Home Alabama, Free Bird) were aboard a chartered flight of a twin-engine Convair CV-240 on October 20, 1977. The people who fly in private jets are typically famous people, so when a private plane crashes there is a higher probability that one of the passengers will be famous (although this is interesting because there are far more private jets that transport corporate people like my dad and myself and their crash rate is significantly lower, so there Pyle, also very hurt, managed to get out of the wreckage and call for help. The Grand Ole Opry members"Cowboy" Lloyd Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins were also aboard. In a statement, the NTSB said, "The pilot's early entry into and failure to maintain rotor rpm during a forced landing autorotation after performing an engine shutdown in flight, which resulted in an uncontrolled descent.". Dale Earnhardt Jr. American Airlines flight 965 crashed into a mountain in Colombia and Dussan and her father were two of four survivors. Poor communication. 3.7K views, 154 likes, 14 loves, 55 comments, 6 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from TV3 Ghana: #News360 || 30-04-23 . Stress. Jenni Rivera. Twenty others, however, survived the crash. This is a list of notable human fatalities resulting from aviation accidents and incidents. All aboard, including the 21-year-old pilot, Roger Peterson, died. An active philanthropist, 38-year-old Pittsburgh Pirates player Clemente was traveling to Managua, Nicaragua, to bring aid and supplies to the country after a destructive earthquake. It took 42 hours to locate the wreckage in a search that included country stars Marty Robbins and Ernest Tubb. Reeves was 39 years old. Jose Fernandez, 24: The Miami Marlins pitcher died Sept. 25, 2016, when the boat he was in struck a jetty in Miami Beach. The trio of rock legends all died on impact in a small plane crash while departing Mason City, Iowa, on Feb. 3, 1959, which was also immortalized in music as "The Day the Music Died." However, if the plane crash proves fatal for those on board, the bodies are grievously injured along the way so much so, that it makes cataloging the injuries incredibly difficult, according to the Journal of Forensic Science (posted at the National Library of Medicine).