On Oct. 12, 1997, was the lone person aboard his homebuilt airplane when it crashed into Monterey Bay on the California coast. The “Rocky Mountain High” singer-songwriter lost his life that day at 53 years old, and the accident sparked countless questions.
The conditions were reportedly pristine that day. So what happened? Denver was quite a competent pilot by that point with over 2,500 hours of experience, and though technically he was legally barred from flying at this time due to previous arrests for DUIs, it was determined that neither alcohol nor drugs played a role in this particular crash.
What the National Transportation Safety Board Found Out
To be clear, we are no experts at aviation technology, but according to the post-crash investigation done by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), it appeared Denver had lost control of his Long-EZ aircraft while trying to switch fuel tanks during flight.
The location of the instruments needed for such switches on Denver’s particular plane — and more specifically the difficulty of reaching them — was actually something Denver had discussed with a mechanic who had serviced the plane just before the crash.
“The technician stated that he and the pilot talked about the inaccessibility of the cockpit fuel selector valve handle and its resistance to being turned,” the NTSB report said. “The handle was located behind the pilot’s left shoulder. They attempted to extend the reach of the handle, using a pair of vice grip pliers. But this did not solve the problem as the pilot could not reach the handle. The pilot said he would use the autopilot inflight, if necessary, to hold the airplane level while he turned the fuel selector valve.”
The incident did not go unseen — 20 eyewitnesses were interviewed following the crash. “Eight of the witnesses said that they heard a ‘pop’ or ‘backfire,'” the report noted, “along with a reduction in the engine noise level just before the airplane descended into the water.”
The Loss of John Denver
Following his death, flags across Colorado, where Denver lived for much of his life, were lowered to half mast. Not long after the crash, Denver’s children’s album All Aboard! won a posthumous Grammy for Best Musical Album for Children, his one and only of those awards.
Nearly a full decade later, a memorial plaque was placed near the crash site in Pacific Grove, California, with lyrics engraved on it from Denver’s 1975 track “Windsong.”
“So welcome the wind and the wisdom she offers / Follow her summons when she calls again / In your heart and spirit let the breezes surround you / Lift up your voice then and sing with the wind.”
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Gallery Credit: UCR Staff
