TOURING the world by air is par for the course when you’re a famous music artist.
But every now and then a routine trip ends in tragedy and some all time greats have perished in plane crashes.
We take a look at air disasters that have left music fans around the world reeling:
Lynyrd Skynyrd
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Flag bearers of the American south and famed for tracks Free Bird and Sweet Home Alabama, Skynyrd were on a hot streak in the 70s before three members were killed in a horrendous air accident.
Just three days after the release of the group’s fifth album, Street Survivors, the band’s future was cast into doubt when a chartered jet carrying the band ran out of fuel and crashed in Mississippi.
Frontman Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and backup singer sister Cassie Gaines all died while
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Guitarist Gary Rossington was knocked out in the crash landing, while keyboard player Billy Powell nearly lost his nose in the incident. Drummer Artimus Pyle, guitarist Allen Collins, bassist Leon Wilkeson, backing singer Leslie Hawkins also survived.
Randy Rhodes
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Regarded as one of the best axe-slingers ever to do it, classically trained rock guitarist Randy Rhodes’ life was cut short in its prime.
The shredder’s work with Ozzy Osbourne in the 80s is still revered to this day and has inspired countless musicians.
Rhodes hopped in a small single-engine Beechcraft F35 with private pilot Andrew Aycock, who was also the band’s tour bus driver.
Aycock attempted to fly close to the tour bus to wake up those on board but clipped the top of the vehicle which sent it into a deadly spiral.
Upon impact with a garage, the plane burst into flames and a 25-year-old Rhodes was killed instantly.
Otis Redding
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Gary Rossington, Billy Powell, Artimus Pyle, Ed King and Bob Burns of Lynyrd Skynyrd become inductees at the 21st Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Soul king Redding became the first artist to achieve a posthumous number one on America’s Billboard Hot 100 when Sitting on the Dock of a Bay topped the chart.
The iconic track was recorded shortly before Redding’s plane crashed into Lake Monona in December 1967. The exact cause of the crash remains unknown, though weather conditions on the day were poor, with heavy rain and fog affecting visibility.
The exact cause of the crash remains unknown though weather conditions on the day were not good, with heavy rain and fog affercting visibility.
Six others died in the crash, with the sole survivor – Bar-Kays member Ben Cauley – waking up from his sleep just moments before impact.
Buddy Holly
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A musical pioneer by his late teens, Buddy Holly’s legacy was already secured by the time his life was tragically cut short at just 22 years old.
The That’ll Be The Day singer was onboard an ill-fated Beechcraft Bonanza plane that crashed in 1959.
The plane plunged into a cornfield at high speed shortly after take-off, killing all four passengers instantly.
An investigation found pilot Roger Peterson wasn’t adequately qualified to fly an aircraft in conditions where visibility wasn’t clear and instruments were needed to aid the flight.
Songwriter Don McLean later dubbed the incident ‘The Day Music Died’ in his classic song American Pie.
Patsy Cline
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Country queen Patsy Cline died aged 30 when the Piper PA-24 Comanche she was travelling in crashed in bad weather.
Prior to the flight, the music star joked to her friend Dottie West that she was happy to take her chances up in the air rather than ride in a car.
She said: “Don’t worry about me, Hoss. When it’s my time to go, it’s my time.”
The aircraft went down 90 miles from its destination in Nashville.
A search party headed out to find survivors following reports of a stricken aircraft, but everybody on board was killed instantly.
Aaliyah
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Promising R&B sensation Aaliyah lost her life in a plane crash in 2001.
The singer had finished shooting her Rock the Boat music video in the Bahamas and was keen to return home.
In a tragic turn of events, the eight-strong group swapped aircraft despite concerns the party was two heavy for the alternative plane.
The plane crashed just metres after taking off, with Aaliyah suffering burns and a blow to the head, according to the coroner’s report.
John Denver
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Though a highly-experienced private pilot, Denver was not allowed to fly at the time of his death in 1997.
The songwriter had been found guilty of drink-driving numerous times in the past and a year before the crash hadn’t maintained his sobriety resulting a in a medical certificate being revoked.
However, alcohol played no part in Denver’s death after his home-built light aircraft plunged to the ground.
His fate was sealed when he failed to switch fuel tanks correctly, causing the plane to nosedive.
Travis Barker
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The Blink 182 sticksman was lucky to survive when the private Learjet he was travelling on crashed in Columbia, South Carolina in 2008.
Four people died in the accident, with Barker and collaborator Adam ‘DJ AM’ Goldstein the only survivors.
The traumatic incident has left Barker with PTSD which he still struggles with to this day as a touring musician.
He didn’t fly for 13 years after the crash and a recent spate of air disasters have proven to be triggering.
He told Fox News this week: “It’s hard for me to get on flights. I do it sober. I don’t need to take anything. I don’t need to do anything. But it just gets harder and harder. Especially when your biggest fears, like, you start to see them come to life in reality.
“When you kind of tell yourself these things never happen. These things never happen. And then, just lately, I feel like we’ve been — like we’re seeing it almost every day.”
