Nelson DC-3 Accident
Following shows in Orlando, Florida and Guntersville, Alabama, Ricky Nelson and band members boarded the DC-3 in Guntersville and took off for a New Year’s Eve extravaganza in Dallas, Texas. During the flight, an intense in-flight fire necessitated a forced landing in a farmer’s field. Fire was intense enough to cause molten metal to drop from the airplane as it positioned for landing causing multiple ground fires below its fight path. The plane force-landed northeast of Dallas in De Kalb, Texas less than 2 miles from a landing strip at approximately 5:14 p.m. CST on 31 December 1985, impacting trees on rollout.
Seven were killed: Nelson and his fiancée, Helen Blair; bass guitarist Patrick Woodward; drummer Rick Intveld; keyboardist Andy Chapin; guitarist Bobby Neal; and road manager/soundman Donald Clark Russell. Pilots Ken Ferguson and Brad Rank escaped via cockpit windows though Ferguson was severely burned.
