North East United States
Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey & Washington D.C.
A light plane taken for a joy ride by three members of rock star Ozzy Osbourne’s entourage yesterday crashed into a bus where Osbourne was sleeping and then into a house killing all three people aboard. The group is scheduled to permorm in Providence April 6. Although Osbourne and two other members of the group were sleeping in the bus when the single engine Apache’s wing ripped through it, none of them was injured. Two other members of the entourage standing near the bus taking pictures of the plane as it buzzed the Red Baron Airport also escaped injury. Osbourne and the survivors immediately went into seclusion at a motel and declined to talk to reporters. Killed were Randy Rhoads, 25, a guitarist; Rachel Youngblood, 58, the group’s hairdresser and general aide; and tour bus driver Andy Aycock, 36, who was flying the plane. Gail Roberts of Los Angeles, who represents the group, said he was told the tour was heading for Orlando when Aycock, a licensed pilot who owns land in the area, decided to take a spin. He first took two members of the group for a ride, then landed and picked up Rhoads and Miss Youngblood. Lake County Sheriff’s Captain Jim Brown said: "The aircraft circled the airport three times, coming down and buzzing the field each time. The third time it struck a large bus, spun through a tree, pinwheeled over upside down into a house and exploded into flames." Brown said the portion of the house struck by the plane was gutted by fire in the accident which took occurred at about 10 a.m. Jesse Herndon, 70, was in the house at the time of the crash but was not hurt. Witnesses said the group had been on an all night trip from Knoxville, Tennessee, and were on their way to Orlando, about 40 miles away. They were scheduled to appear 11 a.m. Saturday in the Tangerine Bowl at a concert called "Rock Super Bowl XIV."
Glens Falls, New York
A small plane crashed into a mansion and burst into flames Friday, killing the lead guitarist of the Ozzy Osbourne rock group and two other people, police said. The plane twice buzzed the house, where the rock group was staying, and on a third pass clipped the rock group’s tour bus and a tree, then slammed into the two-story colonial home, officials said. Killed were guitarist Randall Rhoads, 25, pilot Andrew Aycock, 36, and Rachel Youngblood, 58, the group’s makeup artist and hairdresser, said Lake County Deputy Sheriff Mike Smalt. All were aboard the plane. Osbourne - known for such stage antics as biting off the head of a live bat - was in the bus but was not hurt, Smalt said. Several other group members escaped unhurt from the mansion before it was gutted by flaming gasoline that spewed from the Beechcraft Bonanza, officials said. Rhoads and Ms. Youngblood were from Los Angeles, Smalt said. He said Aycock lived at Flying Baron Estates, the wealthy, private airport community about three miles east of Leesburg where the crash occurred. The group was staying at the mansion before a concert scheduled for Orlando on Saturday. Members of the group quickly left the crash site and it was not known whether they would perform. Jack Barker, Atlanta regional spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the FAA flew an investigator to the scene Friday.
New York, New York
The lead guitarist of "Wild Man" Ozzy Osbourne's rock group was killed yesterday in the flaming crash of a small plane that was buzzing the mansion where the group was staying. The pilot and a woman on the plane were also killed. The plane, which was carrying guitarist Randall Rhoads, 25, twice buzzed the house, but on a third pass, it clipped the group's tour bus and a tree, and slammed into the two-story colonial home. The pilot was identified as Andrew Aycock, 36. The woman was identified as Rachel Youngblood, 58, the group's makeup artist and hairdresser. Osbourne - known for such stage antics as biting off the head of a live bat - was in the bus but was not hurt, Smalt said. Other group members escaped unhurt from the mansion before it was gutted by flaming gasoline that spewed from the Beechcraft Bonanza, officials said. The group was staying at the mansion before a concert scheduled for Orlando on Saturday. Members of the group quickly left the crash site and it was not known whether they would perform. Jack Barker, Atlanta regional spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the FAA flew an investigator to the scene yesterday. He said the National Transportation Safety Board would also investigate. The bus - outfitted with plush chairs, video games and a stereo system - was punctured by the wing of the aircraft.
Randy Rhoads, the tewnty-five-year-old lead guitarist for heavy-metal gross-out king Ozzy Osbourne, was killed March 19th when a plane in which he was taking a ride clipped Osbourne's tour bus, cartwheeled through a pine tree and exploded into the garage of a mansion forty miles north of Orlando, Florida. Also killed in the accident were the group's hairdresser, fifty-eight-year-old Rachel Youngblood, and the planes pilot, Andrew Aycock, who also served as the band's bus driver. Osbourne and other members of his group were inside the bus at the time of the crash but were not injured. The bus was transporting the band from a concert in Knoxville, Tennesse, to a scheduled show the following night in Orlando, had parked next to Flying Baron Estates, an airfield that also served as home base for the bus company. While some minor repairs were being performed on the bus, Aycock apparently invited members of the entourage to ride with him in his Beechcraft Bonanza plane. The Federal Aviation Administration has not yet ruled on the cause of the crash. The group's tour has been suspended until a replacement is found for Rhoads, who in 1981 won Guitar Player's award for best new guitarist of the year.
Newark, New Jersey
A small plane buzzing the shock-rock group Ozzy Osbourne clipped a tour bus, hit a tree and crashed in flames into a mansion Friday, killing the group's lead guitarist and two other people, police said. All three victims were on the plane, which had made two close passes over the mansion, where group members were staying, and was buzzing it a third time when it crashed, authorities said. Killed were guitarist Randall Rhoads 25, pilot Andrew Aycock 36, and Rachel Youngblood, 58, the group's makeup artists and hairdresser, said Lake County Deputy Sheriff Mike Smalt. Osbourne - known for such outrageous stage antics as biting off the head of a live bat more than for music - was in the tour bus when the plane's wing clipped it but was not hurt, Smalt said. Several other members of the group escaped unhurt from the huge, two-story colonial house before it was gutted by flaming gasoline that spewed from the Beechcraft Bonanza, officials said. Rhoads and Mrs. Youngblood were from Los Angeles, Smalt said. He said Aycock lived at Flying Baron Estates, the wealthy, private airport community about three miles east of Leesburg where the accident happened. The group was staying at the mansion before a concert scheduled for Orlando Saturday. Members of the group were whisked away from the crash site and it was not immediately known whether they would keep their concert date Saturday. Jack Barker, Atlanta regional spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the FAA flew an investigator to the scene Friday afternoon. He said the National Transportation Safety Board would also investigate. The bus - outfitted with plush chairs, video games and a stereo system to make long trips more enjoyable - was punctured by the wing of the aircraft.
Washington D.C.
Three people including the lead guitarist for the Ozzy Osbourne rock group, were killed yesterday when a single-engine plane carrying them crashed into a mansion in Leesburg, Fla., where the group was staying. According to Lake County Deputy Sheriff Mike Smalt, those killed were guitarist Randall Rhoads, 25; pilot Andrew Aycock, 36; and Rachel Youngblood, 58, the group's make-up artist and hairdresser. The group was apparently staying at the mansion preparing for a Saturday concert in Orlando. Aycock's Beechcraft Bonanza twice buzzed the house at 10 a.m., and on a third pass, it clipped the rock group's tour bus and a tree before slamming into the two-story colonial home. Osbourne was in the bus, but escaped unhurt when the bus was punctured by the wing of the plane. Several other band members escaped the mansion without injury before it was gutted by fire fed by the plane's fuel. The surviving members of the touring group quickly left the crash site and it was not known whether they would perform in Orlando.
The Day The Music Died - Index