Ronnie Van Zant was the lead singer and songwriter for the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.
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Van Zant and several other members of the band were killed in a plane crash in Gillsburg, Mississippi on October 20, 1977.
Along with Van Zant, two other band members, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines were killed in the tragic accident.
Steve Gaines was the lead guitarist and a backup vocalist for Lynyrd Skynyrd. He joined the band in 1976 and contributed to the albums “Street Survivors” and “One More from the Road.”
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guitarist Steve Gaines during a July 20, 1977, performance at Convention Hall in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
Credit: JLS/Associated Press
In addition to the members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, the plane crash also claimed the lives of several others. Assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray Jr. were also killed.
The plane had been chartered to take the band from Greenville, South Carolina to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for a concert. The exact cause of the crash is still unknown, although it is believed to have been the result of fuel exhaustion.
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