Tom Hill/Getty ImagesRonnie Van Zant, a little over a year before the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash that killed him and several members of his band.Ronnie Van Zant always had a feeling that he would die young. The Lynyrd Skynyrd frontman mentioned his premonition to multiple people, even telling a bandmate in Tokyo that he wouldnt live to see 30. Then, 87 days before his 30th birthday, Van Zant died in a shocking plane crash.Up until that point, however, Van Zant and his bandmates seemed to be at the peak of greatness, releasing smash hits like Free Bird and Sweet Home Alabama. And by the time Van Zant and the rest of Lynyrd Skynyrd boarded the bands plane on Oct. 20, 1977, they were fresh off the release of their fifth album. But triumph turned to tragedy on that October night when the bands plane ran into engine trouble over Mississippi. The aircrafts tragic crash would end the life of Ronnie Van Zant and several others on board but, against all odds, Lynyrd Skynyrd would survive. The Rise Of Ronnie Van Zant And Lynyrd SkynyrdBorn on January 15, 1948, in Jacksonville, Florida, Ronald Wayne Van Zant didnt drift toward life as a musician right away. According to the official Lynyrd Skynyrd website, his first passions were fishing and playing baseball.I went as far as playing American Legion ball, Ronnie Van Zant said, according to the site. The next step would have been AA. I played center field. I had the highest batting average in the league one year and a good arm. Youve got to have a good arm to play outfield.But Van Zants love of baseball ended up leading him somewhere else to music. According to the Lynyrd Skynyrd documentary If I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film, Van Zant hit his future drummer, Bob Burns, with a line drive during a high school baseball game.I think its funny as hell! Van Zant allegedly told Burns friend, future Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington. Burns, for his part, recalled that Van Zants line drive caught me behind the shoulder blades and took out every breath I ever had my whole life.Burns was bruised, but his pride wasnt, and the three started jamming together. They soon recruited guitarist Allen Collins and, in 1964, dubbed their band My Backyard. My Backyard became Wildcats, the Sons of Satan, Conqueror Worm, the Pretty Ones, and the One Percent.Then, in 1969, it finally became Lynyrd Skynyrd. If I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film explains that the bands name came from two places: Rossingtons high school coach, Leonard Skinner, a stickler for enforcing the schools rules about hair length, and a lyric from Allen Shermans 1963 novelty song Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesLynyrd Skynyrd in 1975, from left to right: Ed King, Leon Wilkeson, Artimus Pyle, Billy Powell, Allen Collins, Ronnie Van Zant, and Gary Rossington.From there, Lynyrd Skynyrd with the addition of members like Larry Junstrom and Leon Wilkeson on bass started its ascent to rock n roll greatness. Determined to whip his fellow members into shape, Van Zant brought the band to a Florida shack with no air conditioning called the Hell House and made them practice. Ronnie ran Skynyrd like Stalin ran Russia, Wilkeson told Spin.Fueled by drugs, ambition, and the frequent outbreak of violence, Lynyrd Skynyrd started to claw its way to the top. The band produced their debut album (Pronounced Lh-nrd Skin-nrd) in 1973 and soon caught the worlds attention with hits like Sweet Home Alabama.After releasing their fifth album, Street Survivors, on Oct. 17, 1977, Ronnie Van Zant and his band seemed unstoppable. But three days later, on October 20, a devastating plane crash would change everything.The Frontmans Death In The Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane CrashThe album cover for Lynyrd Skynyrds fifth album, which featured flames and Ronnie Van Zant with his eyes closed, was later changed because it was considered too evocative of the plane crash.On Oct. 20, 1977, the day of Lynyrd Skynyrds flight from Greenville, South Carolina, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, almost everyone had a bad feeling about the plane. According to Rolling Stone, the bands manager Peter Rudge had bought the nearly 30-year-old Convair 240 out of necessity because the group caused too much trouble on commercial flights.But the band members didnt like it especially since one of the engines had caught on fire on October 18, at 12,000 feet.Our wives, everyone were afraid for us to get on this thing, but we didnt know any better, keyboardist Billy Powell told VH1s Behind the Music.Gary Rossington also remembered that Allen Collins didnt want to get on board, telling the Orlando Sentinel, [Collins] didnt want to get on that plane. He said, Im not gonna get on it because its not right.' But Rossington recalls a different reaction from Ronnie Van Zant, who seemed less perturbed than the others about their rickety plane. Ronnie said, Hey, if the Lord wants you to die on this plane, when its your time, its your time, Rossington said. Lets go, man. Weve got a gig to do.' The scene of the plane crash that killed Ronnie Van Zant and several other passengers on board.At 5:02 p.m., the plane took off in Greenville. The band relaxed, blasting music, playing poker, and enjoying the view. Van Zant, with a bad back, even lay on the floor as one of the backing vocalists gave him a massage. For almost two hours, they sailed through the sky. Then, the planes right engine failed. And, then, the left engine did, too. The passengers grew quiet as the pilot explained the situation and the plane began to plummet through the sky. But different members remember different things about Ronnie Van Zants final moments.Rolling Stone reports that the bands security chief, Gene Odom, woke Van Zant and strapped him into a seat. But drummer Artimus Pyle remembered Van Zant retrieving a pillow from the back of the plane and shaking his hand. Ronnie, Pyle said, knew that he was going to die.Indeed, as the plane sliced through a forest near Gillsburg, Mississippi, at 90 miles per hour, Ronnie Van Zant died instantly of blunt force trauma, months shy of his 30th birthday. Steve Gaines, the bands promising young guitarist, his sister Cassie Gaines, a backup vocalist, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray Jr., also perished. The others on board survived with critical injuries. And when reporters asked Powell soon after the crash if Lynyrd Skynyrd would continue to perform, the keyboardist tersely replied, I dont think so.The Rebirth Of Lynyrd SkynyrdIn the aftermath of the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash, an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board found that the fatal crash had been due to fuel exhaustion as well as pilot error. But Ronnie Van Zants death, and the deaths of others on board, didnt spell the end of Lynyrd Skynyrd as Powell predicted.In 1987, the band reformed with many of its original members this time, with Van Zants younger brother Johnny singing lead vocals.I never thought I would be in Lynyrd Skynyrd, Johnny Van Zant told USA Today. I remember seeing the band rehearse and play, and going, Wow, I want to do that one day and here I am!Having played in his brothers place for over three decades, Johnny Van Zant remarked: [W]e dont know what path Gods going to lead us down and what our mortality is, but Ive got a lot of things to live for.Today, Lynyrd Skynyrd is still rocking. Theyre older now Johnny Van Zant joked that fan appreciation had replaced sex and drugs but theyre still singing the songs that Ronnie Van Zant penned decades ago.In that way, Ronnie Van Zant lives on. He may have died young back in 1977, but his music, and his band, continue with a life of their own.After reading about Ronnie Van Zant and his shocking death in the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash, see how musicians Patsy Cline and Buddy Holly met the similar fates.The post Inside The Death Of Southern Rock Legend Ronnie Van Zant In The Fiery Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash appeared first on All That's Interesting.