On October 20, 1977, a Convair 240 carrying Lynyrd Skynyrd from Greenville, South Carolina, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, crashed near Gillsburg, Mississippi. Six of the 26 people aboard died, including three members of the band. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that fuel exhaustion caused both engines to lose power; it identified crew inattention to the fuel supply as the probable cause and listed inadequate flight planning and a right-engine malfunction as contributing factors.
Where and when the plane crashed
At about 6:52 p.m. Central Daylight Time on October 20, 1977, L & J Company Convair 240 N55VM went down in a wooded area about five miles northeast of Gillsburg, Mississippi. The aircraft was flying from Greenville, South Carolina, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The NTSB’s final accident report, adopted June 19, 1978, records 24 passengers and two crew members aboard.
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How many people died in the crash?
Six of the 26 people aboard died: both crew members and four passengers. The other 20 people were injured. The NTSB report supplies the definitive total; the Associated Press’s October 20, 2023, retrospective identifies three of the dead as Lynyrd Skynyrd members, including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant. The six fatalities were not all band members.
What happened during the flight?
According to the NTSB synopsis, the flight told Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center it was “low on fuel” and requested radar vectors to McComb, Mississippi. The plane crashed in a wooded area while attempting an emergency landing. The aircraft was destroyed by impact; the report says there was no fire.
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What did the NTSB say caused the crash?
The NTSB determined that fuel exhaustion led to a total loss of power from both engines. Its probable-cause finding says that crew inattention to the fuel supply caused the accident. The Board separately listed inadequate flight planning and a right-engine malfunction of undetermined nature as contributing factors; it said the malfunction resulted in higher-than-normal fuel consumption. The report does not identify that engine malfunction as the sole cause.
The distinction matters: fuel exhaustion and the resulting loss of power form the NTSB’s stated probable cause, while the planning deficiency and undetermined right-engine malfunction are conditions it said contributed. These are the Board’s findings in its 1978 report, not a new independent reconstruction of the accident.
Quick Recap
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- Gimme Back My Bullets is Lynyrd Skynyrd's fourth studio album
Rank #4
- Released in 1975, The biggest difference with "Nuthin' Fancy" is that the band, through touring, has become heavier and harder, fitting right in with the heavy album rock bands of the mid-'70s
Rank #3
- Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote the book on Southern rock with their first album, so it only made sense that they followed it for their second album, aptly titled Second Helping
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- Released in 1973 "Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd" was Lynyrd Skynyrd's first album
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