Most Of The Band Did Not Want To Board The Plane, But Band Leader Ronnie Van Zant Overruled And forced Them To Go
Ronnie Van Zant was just more than the band’s main songwriter, frontman, and singer. He was known as “Papa Ronnie”. When he was sober, he was a fair and kind person. Willing to lend a hand and stick by his bandmates, he was hard to beat when standing by your side. But sadly when he drank, which was quite often, his demeanor and character qualities changed drastically. Violent, wild, and belligerent, Ronnie was a force to be reckoned with.
On several occasions, the latter shined through. On one occasion after a show, he approached Billy Powell who was the band’s keyboard player, and punched him so hard in the mouth he knocked his two front teeth out. The reason behind this? Billy had taken too long on his intro to the song “Free Bird” and that didn’t set well with Ronnie. On another occasion, while reportedly on a drunken rage, he even slashed the hands of Gary Rossington, his best friend and guitarist, with a broken beer bottle.
Everyone was afraid of riding on this plane. Cassie Gaines, Steve Gaines’s sister who were both bound for death in the crash, would routinely ride on the equipment bus rather than the plane. Small and cramped, it still felt better than lift-off of the Convair CV-240. Artimus Pyle was also notoriously outspoken against the plane and on several occasions would take buses to shows. One band member, JoJo Billingsly, was not on the flight. She was sick and would meet up with the band in Arkansas to continue the tour.