Ronnie Van Zant Cause of Death: What did Ronnie Van Zant died from?

Ronnie Van Zant, the lead vocalist and founding member of the American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd died tragically in a plane crash on October 20, 1977

The cause of the crash was a mechanical failure, but the exact cause of Van Zant’s death was due to blunt force trauma to the head and chest.

Van Zant and the other members of Lynyrd Skynyrd had just finished a performance at the Greenville Memorial Auditorium in South Carolina when they boarded a chartered plane to head to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The plane, a Convair CV-240, experienced mechanical difficulties and crashed in a forest near Gillsburg, Mississippi.

Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, backup singer Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, and the two pilots were killed in the crash.

Van Zant was buried in Orange Park, Florida IN 1997. On June 29, 2000, vandals broke into his and his bandmate Steve Gaines’ tombs and relocated his body.

Van Zant’s death was a great loss to the world of rock and roll. He was a gifted songwriter and performer who helped define the Southern rock sound of the 1970s.