Artimus Pyle Survived the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash-Then Got Shot Seeking Help

On the evening of October 20, 1977, a chartered Convair CV-240 carrying Lynyrd Skynyrd ran out of fuel and crashed into a dense pine forest and swamp near Gillsburg, Mississippi. The band was flying from Greenville, South Carolina, after a show, toward Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Fuel exhaustion caused both engines to fail. The plane clipped the treetops, tore apart over roughly 12 seconds, and came to rest in the woods.

Six people died: lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, his sister and backing vocalist Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, and the two pilots, Walter McCreary and William Gray. Of the 26 people aboard, 20 survived, many with life-changing injuries.

Pyle’s Actions After Impact

Drummer Artimus Pyle suffered severe chest trauma—torn cartilage from his throat to his breastbone and broken ribs. Despite the pain, he crawled from the wreckage through jagged metal, cutting himself in the process. Drawing on his Marine Corps training, he performed basic triage on others, then decided the only way to save lives was to find help. He set out alone through black swamp water, briars, and darkness, later describing encounters with snakes and the constant fear of further injury.

He rolled over a barbed-wire fence, crossed a field of cattle, and finally reached a farmhouse roughly three-quarters of a mile from the crash site. Covered in blood, with long hair and a beard, he looked terrifying in the fading light.

The Farmhouse Confrontation

Young farmer Johnny Mote, about 21, had heard the noise and feared escaped convicts. He grabbed a rifle, ordered Pyle to halt, and fired when the injured drummer kept moving forward. Pyle has consistently said the shot struck or grazed his shoulder and spun him around. He yelled “Plane crash!” believing it might be his final words. Mote quickly understood, helped him inside, and organized a convoy of local vehicles that followed Pyle’s directions back to the wreckage. Rescuers then reached the scene.

Accounts differ on whether the bullet actually hit Pyle—Mote described it as a warning shot—but the encounter delayed help only briefly and remains one of the most surreal details of the night.

Legacy of Survival

Pyle recovered and continued performing Lynyrd Skynyrd’s music for decades. He remains one of the last living members from that era and has spoken openly about the crash, survivor’s guilt, and the determination that drove him through the swamp. The tragedy ended the original band’s run, yet the music endured.

His story captures both the horror of that October night and the raw will to keep moving when everything else has stopped.

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