On October 20, 1977, a Convair CV-240 passenger aircraft ran out of fuel and crashed in a wooded area near Gillsburg, Mississippi. Chartered by the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from L&J Company of Addison, Texas, it was near the end of its flight from Greenville, South Carolina, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Lead vocalist/founding member Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist and vocalist Steve Gaines, backing vocalist Cassie Gaines (Steve’s older sister), assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray all died as a result of the crash; 20 others survived.
We are a group of local fans who are asking for the support of the Lynyrd Skynyrd community to help install a historical marker at the site of the 1977 crash.
I am sooooo glad you guys are doing this. They were a great band and this was such a tragedy. I am going to the GoFund me page now. Good luck with this project.
A Blues Trail Marker will be located on Ms. Hwy. 568 @ Easley Road in Amite County, Mississippi near the site the Lynyrd Skynyrd Band’s Plane that crashed on Oct. 20, 1977. Mississippi currently has 203 Blues Trail Markers located thru out the state where history was made with the rich musical history in Mississippi. This marker will be unveiled Oct. 20, 2019 at 3:00pm. A concert will be held Oct. 19, 2019 at 7:00pm in the SMCC Fine Arts auditorium. The crash survivors, rescuers, and caretakers in attendance will be recognized. Many Skynyrd fans from around the world have come searching for the crash site to only find posted property, no path, and never finding the crash site located deep in the swamp off of the highway. The Blues Trail Marker now will give fans a safe, public place to reflect and honor the members of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Band that perished that night. The marker also will tell of the rescuers and caretakers that helped. A GoFundMe account will help cover the cost of the Blues Trail Marker.
I will be there to be a part of this bitter sweet event. And I will continue to donate each month to this cause. Also, I will be available to help in anything needed. Fly High Free Birds
Thank you so much for your ongoing support. We are glad you are coming to share in this “bitter sweet event” with all the other fans. We’ll know more about what help we’ll need soon. We’ll keep you posted.
Thanks. I’ll be there Friday evening.
Thank you and I will be contacting you for Oct 20 weekend. Gov.
Thank you sir.
I can’t believe this & I hope it’s the truth, I think this might put an end to all the hard feelings between the families & the Fans, would flock to this, It would be A Southern man’s Festival, with everyone invited !!!Yeah I freaking love it 😍
Oh, it’s TRUE. We are so close to making this a reality. We hope everyone can come together for this tribute. See you in October!
We have got support from Lynyrd Skynyrd Inc. , The Tribute Band, and Judy VanZant. This will be a remarkable weekend for and Skynyrd Fan. “Gov”
I would love for this to happen!! I hope to attend also!
Oh, it WILL happen. We are moving forward and we see the goal well within reach. And, YES, please join us in October. More info about the tribute, special opportunities, and lodging options coming soon.
This is happening, and it because of the Skynyrd Fans that have contributed to the GoFundMe account Lynyrd Skynyrd Highway Marker (project)
As a happy contributor to the GoFundMe campaign to erect the Lynyrd Skynyrd crash site marker, I am also pleased to see this new website dedicated to updating fans about the progress of the marker.
I look forward to future updates.
Thank you.
As I commented earlier, I apologize for not moderating the comments as I should have. Things are moving pretty quickly and there will be updates and announcements soon. Thanks for pitching in to make this project a reality!!
Stan, we have just got started….stay tuned. “Gov”
It Should Happen!
It WILL happen, Join us in October for the tribute.
Just made a donation to the gofundme. Will there be directions for where to go, park, etc…? And will it be possible to get to the actual crash site itself?
We’ll have all that up in the next few days. The monument will be on the highway most near the actual crash site, about 1500 feet away. Check out the map here https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1Nq9KsNyQvo-y-6mZgcMsEmAM0_gnyJHi&hl=en&ll=31.07634327748881%2C-90.59351952678662&z=16
Uma grande banda, podes crer. Boa sorte com este projeto.
Obrigado pelo seu apoio. Sim, eles eram uma ótima banda. E a sorte está a nosso favor porque estamos perto de tornar isso uma realidade. Espero que você venha nos visitar algum dia.
This is awesome. Thank you so much for everyone that is doing this memorial for Lynyrd Skynyrd. I’m sure a lot of people do not know where the crash site is located. The music will live 4 ever and still be going long after I’m gone and I’m 47❤️
It’s not just us doing this memorial. It’s all of us and you – the fans. It was a tragic event that we will never let be forgotten. Hope you can joins this October for the tribute.
Greatest Band There will Ever Be!! So Sad This Had To Happen Over A Stupid Mistake!!! RVZ Was A Magical Person!! Steve-Cassie-Dean, Were Very Special !!!!! Thanks 2 Everyone That Helped In This Tragitey!!! Thanks To Everyone Who Is Making This Possible!!!! To All The Families Involved, So Sorry For Your Loss!!! God Speed To All!!! Hope To Meet All You Skynryd Fans-Family There!!!
We are honored to pay tribute to this great band. We are happy you will join us in our celebration of the “Greatest Band There will Ever Be!!”
My all time favorite Band is Lynyrd Skynyrd ,” I’m originally from Jacksonville and have met Ronnie Van Zant and also love the music 🎶 of 38 Special and have met Dave Lubeck of Molly Hatchet ,”Black foot and many others around Jacksonville and Orange Park ,” they’re all awesome ,” I had the pleasure of meeting Shorty Medlock as well .”
You’re a true fan!! Hope you plan to come to the tribute in October. More info coming soon.
Hey Hey, Admin here. Sorry your comments weren’t posted earlier. I thought I’d be noticed when a new comment came in for approval. So glad so many visitors are coming to the site. AND leaving comments. There is news coming soon about progress on the marker(s) and a great event on October 19, 2019.
Bobby, you have had a full plate and moving this along in a timely fashion. This gives fans 365 days a year to travel to Gillisburg and spend time in McComb as well. All of us.
” Know A Little ” !
NUTHIN’ FANCY
(the ultimate Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute)
is proud to have been chosen to perform this tribute concert on October 19th at SWMC
in honor of the greatest Rock-N-Roll band to ever exist…..
http://www.TOMMYROXX.com
Here ya go:
https://youtu.be/n0hJHiTkaow
Thanks for sharing this with us. So looking forward to your tribute performance on the 19th!
I’m having trouble locating tickets on Eventbrite for the Activities that weekend. Can someone help me out on this. Thanks so much.
The eventbrite should be live this weekend. The are two seating prices; $40 is general admission, but $80 is the full VIP Package with meet & greet with the survivors & caregivers and some swag.
The Big Event tickets are now live on Eventbrite at https://lynyrdskynyrdmarker.eventbrite.ca.
Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute band “Nuthin’ Fancy” from Clearwater , Florida will be performing at this event….Cain’t wait…..What an Honor!!
I hear they even have a former original Roadduck in the band