Free Bird

Lynyrd Skynyrd's legend is grounded in a plane crash that occurred 6:52 CDT on October 20, 1977, three days after the release of Street Survivors. A chartered Convair 240, N55VM, carrying the band between shows from Greenville, South Carolina to LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana crashed near a forest five miles northeast of Gillsburg, MS (N31 04.317 W90 35.950). The crash killed singer/songwriter Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist/vocalist Steve Gaines, vocalist Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray. Other band members were injured, some very seriously. Drummer Artimus Pyle crawled out of the plane wreckage with several broken ribs, but was ambulatory, as were road crew members Kenneth Peden Jr. and Mark Frank. Of the 26 on board, 20 survived the crash.

The official NTSB accident report reads, "The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of this accident was fuel exhaustion and total loss of power from both engines due to crew inattention to fuel supply. Contributing to the fuel exhaustion were inadequate flight planning and an engine malfunction of undetermined nature in the right engine which resulted in higher-than-normal fuel consumption."



History of the Flight:

On October 20, 1977, the L&J Company Convair 240 registration (N55VM) operated as a charter flight to transport the Lynyrd Skynyrd Band from Greenville, SC to Baton Rouge, LA. The aircraft was owned by the L&J Company of Addision, TX and the flight crew was employed by Falcon Aviation of Addision. A lease agreement had been entered into by Lynyrd Skynyrd Productions, Inc. and the L&J Company for the period October 11, 1977 to November 2, 1977.


At 05:30 local on October 18, 1977 N55VM had arrived at the Greenville, SC downtown airport from Lakeland, FL. While on the ground at Greenville, the aircraft had been refueled with 400 gallons of 100 octane low lead fuel.On October 20, 1977 at 17:02 local, the flight had departed Greenville Downtown Airport for Baton Rouge, LA. The pilot had filed an IFR flight plan by phone with the Greenville Flight Service Station.


The route of flight was to be V20 Electric City, direct Atlanta, direct La Grango, direct Hattiesburg V222 McComb, V194 direct Baton Rouge. The pilot requested an altitude of 12,000 feet and stated that his time enroute would be 2 + 43 and that the aircraft had 5 hours of fuel on board. The pilot was also given a weather briefing.The flight was initially cleared as filed, except the pilot was told to maintain 5,000 feet.


Shortly after take-off, the flight was cleared to 8,000 and was asked to report when leaving 6,000. When the flight reported leaving 6,000 it was issued a frequency change. The pilot did not adhere to the 8,000' restriction and continued climbing to 12,000. The flight was allowed to continue its climb to 12,000 and the clearance was so amended.After reaching 12,000, N55VM proceeded according to flight plan and at 18:39:50 was cleared to descend to and maintain 6,000.


This clearance was acknowledged. At 18:40:15 the flight told Houston Center, "We're out of one two thousand for six thousand."


About 18:42:00 the flight advised Houston, "Yes sir, we need to get to an airport, the closest airport you've got, sir!" Houston Center responded by asking the crew if they were in an emergency status.


The reply was, "Yes sir, we're low on fuel and we're just about out of it, we want vectors to McComb, post haste please, sir!"


Houston Center gave the flight vectors to McComb and at 18:42:55 advised it to turn to a heading of 250 degrees. The flight did not confirm that a turn was initiated until 18:44:12.


At 18:44:34, the pilot of N55VM said, "We are not declaring an emergency, but we do need to get close to McComb as straight and good as we can get, sir!"


At 18:45:12 the flight advised Houston Center, 55 Victor Mike, we're out of fuel!" Center replied, "Roger, understand you're out of fuel?"


The flight replied, "I'm sorry, it's just an indication of it." The crew did not explain what that indication was.


At 18:45:47 Houston Center requested the flight's altitude. The response was, "We're at four point five." That was the last recorded communication between N55VM and Houston Center. Several attempts were made by Houston Center to contact the flight but there was no response.


At 18:55:51 another aircraft reported picking up a weak transmission from an (ELT) emergency locator transmitter.The aircraft had crashed in heavily wooded terrain, during twilight hours at an elevation of 310 feet and at latitude N31 04.317 longitude 90 35.950 near the town of Gillsburg, MS.

With the time gaps, speed of the plane and the flight path - it seeems to me that the pilot over shot the McComb airport and crashed some 10.5 miles away.

"To me, there's nothing freer than a bird, you know, just flying wherever he wants to go. And, I don't know, that's what this country is all about, being free. I think everyone wants to be a free bird." - Spoken by Ronnie, in an interview, while fishing.

"I'm as free as a bird now,
and this bird you cannot change." - From the song, Free Bird.

If the South would've won we'd a had it made,
I'd prolly run for President of the Southern States.
The day young Skynyrd died, we'd show our Southern Pride,
If the South woulda won we'd had a it made.

lyric: If The South Woulda Won by Hank Williams, Jr.