It’s been 48 years since a plane carrying the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd and their crew crashed near Gillsburg, Mississippi, when it ran out of fuel.
Three band members—lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines—were killed in the Oct. 20, 1977 crash, as well as the band’s road manager and the two pilots, per Rolling Stone.
Twenty others sustained serious injuries but survived the accident, including Lynyrd Skynyrd musicians Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Billy Powell, Leon Wilkeson, and Artimus Pyle. Nearly 50 years later, Pyle, 77, is the last living band member from the fatal crash.
On Oct. 19, Pyle’s daughter, Pepper Smith Pyle posted to Instagram to recall her father’s bravery on that tragic day.
“48 years ago tomorrow (October 20th, 1977) my dad was traveling with his band Lynyrd Skynyrd on an airplane in route from one show another,” she wrote. “Complications with the plane led it to crash in the woods. My dad was brave enough to help the 20 people who had survived that crash. The plane held 26 people. 6 people died and mostly from impact.”
“After crashing, he knew help wasn’t coming so he went through swamp, and Mississippi farmland to get help and was even shot by a young farmer kid which he lived through,” she added. “Members of the band, his friends, brothers bound by music; gone in seconds. In the height of their careers: it came to a halt. The day is one to remember by so many."
Pyle's daughter added that she posted the tribute in memory of "those who lost their lives that day and to the ones who had to live on with the pain."
Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Steve Gaines, drummer Artimus Pyle and singer and songwriter Ronnie Van Zant on August 12, 1977. (Photo by Tom Hill/Getty Images)Photo by Tom Hill on Getty Images
Artimus Pyle has been called a hero for his actions that helped the other crash victims survive the tragedy. In an interview posted on his official website, he admitted that he just followed his instincts.
“I really do not see myself as a hero,” Pyle told KNAC.com in the interview. “The truth is once my military training kicked in along with the adrenaline rush, all I was trying to do was to help save the lives of my friends by getting them the medical attention that they all needed as quickly as possible!”
The legendary drummer added that there is not "a day that goes by” that he doesn’t think about his late bandmates and wish for them to still be here.
Pyle’s daughter previously shared some things her father told her about the day of the crash. In an interview with the Ruckus Room in February, Pepper said her father told her they "knew that they were going down” because the plane was out of fuel.
“Everybody just got real quiet,” she said. “Ronnie had told my dad [previously] that he wasn’t gonna live until he was 30. And he died at 29 so Ronnie knew his own destiny.”
Artimus Pyle once confirmed the story that the band’s original lead singer predicted his early death. “We were in Tokyo at some bar and we were drinking lots of sake,” Pyle recalled, per Louder. “Ronnie told me, ‘I am never going to live to see 30.’ I said, ‘Bulls--- man.’ But he said, ‘No, no, I want to go out with my boots on.’”
Van Zant died 87 days before his 30th birthday.
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