According to survivor Billy Powell, Gaines bled to death in Powell’s arms following the accident due to extensive lacerations. She died on the 20th of October, 1977 in a plane crash at Gillsburg, Mississippi when she was only 29 years old.
Cassie Gaines death was extremely sad as it brought to an end the life of this brilliant rock artist. Cassie Gaines was an American Rock singer who was most notable for her membership in the Lynyrd Skynyrd, a popular southern band known for their southern rock genre of music which, through them, became more popular in the 1970s. Some of their popular albums include Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd, which was their debut album and this album holds some of their most popular songs today.
This band was associated with many other acts in the music industry including Johnny Va Zant, Rickey Medlocke, Peter Keys, Gary Rossington, and Keith Christopher. Altogether, the band has sold about 28million records in the United States alone. On the 13th of March, 2006 the band was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Lynyrd Skynyrd band was obviously a very successful band and no doubt, Cassie Gaines was a fundamental part of the band. Unfortunately, she died decades ago and did not get to witness their subsequent achievements.
On the 4th of May, 2018, the band began their final tour called “The Last of the Street Survivors Farewell” and it is set to end on the 11th of October, 2019. Fans are excited to see them and we can’t help but wonder how the last members of this band would pay homage to their former members who have died especially Cassie Gaines. In this article, we explore the early life, career and untimely death of the former member of the Lynyrd Skynyrd band.
Her full name is Cassie LaRue Gaines and she was born on the 9th of January, 1948 in the city of Seneca Missouri, United States of America. There isn’t any information on the internet concerning her childhood or even her family. However, we do know that Cassie grew up with her younger brother Steve Gaines who was also a member of the Lynyrd Skynyrd band until his death. She also had a great relationship with her mother and her death was an extremely difficult thing for her mother to deal with. Cassie held an American nationality and Caucasian ethnicity.
When and How Did Cassie Gaines Die?
Cassie Gaines died on the 20th of October, 1977 in a plane crash at Gillsburg, Mississippi when she was only 29 years old. The events before the plane crash are perhaps the most bone-chilling ones you’d ever hear. Turns out that Cassie didn’t want to board that particular flight and had blatantly refused to travel on that plane. Her reason for this was that the previous day, one of the engines had caught fire and she was convinced that it was not safe. She had decided that she would instead travel in the bands’ tour truck. However, the rest of the crew had convinced her otherwise and she had eventually boarded the flight against her initial wish.
It was reported that towards the end of the flight, the aircraft had run out of fuel and had crashed in a wooded area near Gillsburg, Mississippi. The aircraft had been charted by the Lynyrd Skynyrd band as they were headed to the Louisiana State University where they were to perform. Of all 26 occupants of the plane, 6 had died and 20 survived.
It was reported that the survivors had been those seating close to the back of the plane. The fatalities included Cassie Gaines, her younger brother Steve Gaines, Ronnie Van Zant who was the founding member of the band, the assistant road manager, the pilot, and the copilot. It was reported that although Cassie Gaines had survived the initial crash, she eventually bled to death in the arms of Billy Powell the keyboardist of the band.
Did She Have Children?
Cassie Gaines died at the tender age of 29 years. At the time of her death, she was neither married nor in a relationship with anyone. She also did not have any children. Two years after the death of Cassie Gaines and her younger brother Steve Gaines, their mother died in a road traffic accident close to the cemetery where her children had been buried. She was buried right next to them.