Country star Reba McEntire told People magazine that she "never blamed God" for the March 16, 1991, plane crash that resulted in the deaths of her entire band and tour manager, but she's still haunted by it. Here's what happened.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Country star Reba McIntyre told People magazine that she never blamed God for the March 16th,
00:051991 plane crash that resulted in the deaths of her entire band and tour manager,
00:10but she's still haunted by it. Here's what happened.
00:12The crash made the front page of the San Diego Tribune, with the paper calling it
00:16the worst private plane crash in San Diego County since 1979. The twin-engine Hawker
00:21Siddeley was headed to Amarillo, Texas, when it collided with the side of Otay Mountain
00:25at a height of 4,000 feet. Ten people, everyone on board, died. Manager Jim Hammond,
00:31band members Chris Austin, Paula Evans, Terry Jackson, Kirk Capello, Michael Thomas,
00:36Anthony Saputo, Joey Saganero, as well as pilot Don Holmes and co-pilot Chris Hollinger.
00:41The Los Angeles Times reported that McIntyre and her band had performed the night before
00:45at a private show for IBM executives. Recalling that the flight took to the skies at 1.45 a.m.,
00:50it stands to reason that the man finished their Friday gig, packed up,
00:53and boarded the plane for a stopover in Texas before continuing to their final
00:57destination of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The late-night flight and rushed schedule,
01:01while not uncommon for touring musicians, might have contributed to the oversight of the pilots,
01:05later cited as one of the probable causes of the crash. In other words,
01:09the whole disaster was entirely preventable.
01:12At the time of the crash, Police Sergeant Don Fowler told the San Diego Union-Tribune,
01:16there's not a whole lot to see. Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson Ellie Brekke quoted
01:21a North Island Naval Air Station controller who said he saw a ball of fire when the small
01:26twin-engine plane disappeared from radar. The impact scorched the nearby terrain and left the
01:30side of the mountain full of debris. The aircraft's tail section was the largest chunk of the wreckage
01:35to remain intact. It flew about 100 yards from the crash site and was large enough for U.S.
01:40Border Patrol agents to spot from the air when they went to investigate, along with over 35
01:44local law enforcement officials. Firefighters got to the scene later to put out small fires
01:49scattered over the crash site. Medical examiners and FAA officials arrived after dawn because of
01:54the rough terrain in the area. There were few details about the bodies of the victims. The
01:58Los Angeles Times quoted a San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office official saying none
02:02of the bodies could be identified right away because of extensive trauma. Officials stated
02:06that body parts were scattered over the mountain, just like the remnants of the plane.
02:10All through this crash site, you find personal effects,
02:12reminders of the individuals who died here.
02:16The National Transportation Safety Board finally reached a conclusion of the cause of the crash
02:20in September 1992, laying the blame on pilot Don Holmes, co-pilot Chris Hollinger, and an
02:25unnamed FAA employee. The Los Angeles Times reported that the crash resulted from a variety
02:30of factors, including improper planning-slash-decision by the pilot, the pilot's failure
02:34to maintain proper altitude and clearance over mountainous terrain, and the co-pilot's failure
02:38to adequately monitor the progress of the flight. Inaccurate information from an FAA flight service
02:43specialist at a nearby tower was another factor. No one was familiar with the area's terrain,
02:48the co-pilot was unfamiliar with the plane, it was dark, and the aircraft stayed at low altitude.
02:53Most critically, the FAA specialist didn't warn the pilots about the mountains in the area.
02:57Pilot Don Holmes questioned the specialist's instructions,
03:00saying that they would steer the plane into a terminal control area without clearance.
03:04Holmes asked,
03:05"'So I would be better off if I headed northeast and stayed down,
03:08say, down below 3,000 feet?' Do you agree on that?"
03:12The specialist replied,
03:13"'Yeah, sure. That'll be fine.'"
03:15That route took the plane directly into Otay Mountain.
03:18When the crash occurred, McIntyre was in her hotel in San Diego, possibly asleep.
03:22It seems she decided to rest up before catching up to the band in Fort Wayne for their show that
03:26Saturday night. McIntyre's pilot was at Brownfield Municipal Airport at the time of the accident and
03:31called McIntyre immediately. The singer left San Diego International Airport sometime between 1
03:36and 2 p.m. that day to head not to Fort Wayne, but to Nashville to be with the relatives of
03:40those who died in the crash. There was also a second plane carrying more members of McIntyre's
03:44tour that took off a mere three minutes after the plane that crashed. Those on board that flight
03:49only learned about what happened when they stopped in Memphis for fuel. McIntyre was very close to
03:53those who died. Her spokesperson, Jennifer Bowler, told the Los Angeles Times that losing them was
03:58like, quote, "'losing part of your family.'"
04:01"'How did it affect me? It crushed me.'"
04:05Bowler also told the San Diego Union-Tribune,
04:08"'She is devastated, of course. Many of them had been with her for several years.
04:12Many were like family.'"
04:13On March 16, 2020, the 29th anniversary of the crash, McIntyre posted a tribute to her lost
04:19friends and bandmates on Instagram, writing,
04:21"'Let's keep finding ways to take care of each other down here on Earth and never take one
04:25moment with our loved ones for granted.'" In 2024, she once again posted a tribute on
04:29Instagram and quoted one of her songs,
04:31"'For My Broken Heart,' from the album of the same name released in 1991. She wrote,
04:36"'I guess the world ain't gonna stop, for my broken heart.'"
04:39Each time McIntyre has spoken up about the crash, she has expressed her persistent grief over it.
04:43McIntyre opened up completely about the tragedy on Oprah's MasterClass in 2012.
04:49"'I'm sorry. It's been 20 years. It's just like, I don't guess you'd ever quit hurting.'"
04:56In 2022, she told People,
04:58"'I didn't know if I was going to be able to continue, but it showed me how precious life is.'"
05:06For more stories, visit nyseagrant.org.