Editing Lynyrd Skynyrd (section)

===Plane crash (1977)===
{{main|Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash}}
Following a performance at the [[Greenville Memorial Auditorium]] in [[Greenville, South Carolina]], on October 20, 1977, the band boarded a chartered [[Convair CV-240 family#Variants|Convair CV-240]] bound for [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]], where they were scheduled to appear at [[Louisiana State University|LSU]] the following night. After running out of fuel, the pilots attempted an emergency landing before crashing in a heavily forested area five miles northeast of [[Gillsburg, Mississippi]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19771020-1&lang=en |title=Accident Report, N55VM (10/20/77) |publisher=[[Aviation Safety Network]] |access-date=September 14, 2011}}</ref><ref name="USNTSB3">{{cite web |date=June 19, 1978 |title=Aircraft Accident Report – L & J Company, Convair 248, N55VM, Gillsburg, Mississippi, October 20, 1977 |url=https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAR7806.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200207214020/https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAR7806.pdf |archive-date=February 7, 2020 |access-date=March 25, 2014 |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |id=NTSB-AAR-78-06}}</ref> Killed on impact were Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines, along with backup singer Cassie Gaines (Steve's older sister), assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot John Gray. Other band members (Collins, Rossington, Wilkeson, Powell, Pyle, and Hawkins), tour manager Ron Eckerman, and several road crew members suffered serious injuries.<ref>Eckerman, Ron. [http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/168499 Turn It Up!]. Smashwords.com. Retrieved on December 15, 2012. {{Unreliable source?|date=October 2022}}</ref>

The accident came just three days after the release of the group's fifth studio album ''Street Survivors''. Following the crash and the ensuing press, ''Street Survivors'' became the band's second platinum album and reached No.&nbsp;5 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]], their highest position on the chart. The single "What's Your Name" reached No.&nbsp;13 on the single charts in 1978. The original cover sleeve for ''Street Survivors'' had featured a photograph of the band amid flames, with Steve Gaines nearly obscured by fire. Out of respect for the deceased (and at the request of Teresa Gaines, Steve's widow), MCA Records withdrew the original cover and replaced it with the album's back photo, a similar image of the band against a simple black background.<ref name=Check-Six>{{cite web |title=The 'Lynyrd Skynyrd' Crash |url=http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/LynyrdSkynyrd-N55VM.htm |work=Check-Six.com |date=May 2007 |access-date=July 5, 2008}}</ref> However, the group would restore the original image for the 30th anniversary deluxe edition of the album.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-03 |title=The Lynyrd Skynyrd Album That Created Controversy For Foreseeing The Plane Crash |url=https://rockcelebrities.net/the-lynyrd-skynyrd-album-that-created-controversy-for-foreseeing-the-plane-crash/ |access-date=2022-02-11 |website=Rock Celebrities |language=en-US}}</ref>