In Light of Oliver Tree’s Fatal Crash, Is It Safe For Musicians to Keep Flying in Helicopters or Small Planes?
Categoria: Musica
The owner of a company that coordinates luxury travel for celebrities tells Billboard that these days, his clients are drilling down on safety details before flying.
Por Billboard | 18/06/2026
The death of “Miss You” singer Oliver Tree on Sunday (June 14) in a helicopter crash in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was the latest in a distressingly long list of aviation accidents involving helicopters and small aircraft that have taken the lives of beloved artists, their band mates and prominent concert promoters. From the Feb. 3, 1959 weather-related crash of a small plane near Clear Lake, Iowa that killed early rock icons Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson — commonly referred to as “the day the music died,” in honor of Don McLean’s 1971 song “American Pie” — to the deaths of six people, including 32-year-old Tree (born Oliver Tree Nickell) over the past weekend, deadly aviation accidents can sometimes feel like a dark cloud looming over the music industry. The list of tragic airborne deaths over the past half-century or so reads like a grim, flashing signpost about the potential dangers of eschewing commercial flights or road travel in favor of taking off in smaller craft. A list of just some of the lives lost in such accidents includes: Patsy Cline — Piper PA-24 Comanche small airplane crashed in bad weather on March 5, 1963, killing Cline, 30, and fellow country artists Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins. Jim Croce — Beechcraft E18S twin-engine light craft crashed shortly after takeoff due to fog on Sept. 20, 1973, killing Croce, 30, and five others. Randy Rhoades — beloved Ozzy Osbourne guitarist, 25, died on March 19, 1982 when the single-engine, four-seat plane flown (without permission) by bus driver/private pilot Andrew Aycock attempted to buzz Osbourne’s tour bus, but clipped its wing on the top of the vehicle, sending the plane into a deadly tailspin. Stevie Ray Vaughn — the 35-year-old blues guitarist/singer and four others died on Aug. 27 1990 when the twin-engine Bell helicopter they were riding in after a show at Alpine Valley Music Theater in Alpine Valley, Wisconsin crashed into a nearby ski hill after takeoff due to poor visibility. John Denver — experienced pilot Denver, 53, died when his light, homebuilt Rutan Long-EZ two-seater crashed into Monterey Bay on Oct. 12, 1997 due to a hard-to-reach fuel selector handle. Aaliyah — twin-engine Cessna 402 light plane crashed and caught fire after takeoff from Abaco Islands in the Bahamas on Aug. 25, 2001, killing the singer, 22, and eight others; investigators found that it was overloaded with baggage and the pilot was not certified to fly that kind of aircraft. Jenni Rivera — Mexican singer/actress, 36, died on Dec 9, 2012 when the 10-seat Learjet she and six others were traveling in crashed near Iturbide, Mexico, due to what investigators determined was a loss of control caused by unknown reasons. The tally also includes soul icon Otis Redding, early rocker Ricky Nelson, Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Ronnie Van Zant (and guitarist Steve Gaines), countr