Ricky nelson This is an eGg Hillard Nelson The youngest member of one of the best known and best loved families in America during the late 50s and early 60s There was not much that I can say about the Nelsons Ricky David Ozzie and Harriet Now most Americans don't already know each week we watch David and Ricky grow up before our eyes and thanks to ozzy the head of the family the weekly television, so mimicked real-life situations of the Nelsons They even played as themselves They were not perfect, [but] they were close You could tell [that] they had a genuine love and concern for each other Now I believe that if you brought up in a close-knit family like the Nelsons You may, not always achieve the same for yourself because of life's circumstances But you know what a close family is And I believe that that desire to have the same thing for [yourself] and your family will always be there in December [Nineteen] and [Eighty-five] Ricky Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band was on tour in Florida They had just finished a show in Orlando on the 27th Their next engagement was to be at a new Year's eve party at the park Suite Hotel in Dallas, Texas instead of flying to California for a short time and then having to fly back to Texas Ricky remembered that he had an old friend in Guntersville, Alabama Pat upton Who had actually toured with the nelson as a member of the stone Canyon band for almost four years? Up to [him] himself at one time it had [a] hit record called. I'll love you more today than yesterday Upton had left the Road and opened a lounge called PJ's alley in his hometown of Guntersville Now PJ's here was later converted to a pizza parlor Normally PJ's alley [can] never afford such an expensive performers Ricky Nelson and the stone Canyon, band But this time nelson agreed to perform only for the door fees. He did it for two reasons [one] for convenience and the other to help an old friend On Saturday evening the 28th of December the white with Black and Gold Trim DC-3 made a near-perfect landing at the small Guntersville [airport] That night Ricky and his band played to a packed house People were turned away at the door And a special permit was granted to allow for overcrowding the band Stayed at the Holiday Inn on Guntersville Lake now Ricky and his fiance Helen blair stayed in room 106 Now the hotel was later changed to a best western But now it's called the Wyndham Garden Lake hotel the Hotel By the way is very gracious to [Nelsons] fans even today placing a plaque on door 106 and Memorabilia of Ricky and The Lobby of the Hotel now on Monday Ricky and Helen visited their friend pat upton at his home and Because they had had such a demand from the fans to see Ricky's performance nelson agreed to do another show Monday night, December the 30th the [performance] Monday night was as expected completely sold out However, the show was delayed from a Burnt-out amplifier They were shocked to [find] a Dead python snake in it Yep, a Dead python Ricky stated that the python actually [belonged] to his kids and then most likely crawled into the amplifier [Den] [the] Christmas holidays and Then it probably frozen to death in the unheated baggage compartment of the DC-3 after the performance that [met] Ricky's fans wouldn't Let him get off the stage He was recalled back twice to take [bowels] ironically the last public song that Ricky Nelson Sang was a buddy holly song [Rayvon] and his last words to the crowd that night was Ray vaughn for me The next day on New Year's Eve, December the 31st 19 and 85 the group was scheduled to take off from the small Guntersville [airport] at 10:00 a.m.. That morning But the pilot ken Ferguson delayed the takeoff because of fog and [500-foot] cloud cover also one of the engines failed to start Now the crew had had trouble with the engine starting before they left, Orlando There had been mechanical problems with a plane in the past And it once belonged to Jerry Lewis The group hung around the airport until the problem was corrected Now this is a picture of the plane being inspected by dick lust Manager the Guntersville airport Now at 2:00 p.m.. That afternoon the vintage DC-3 took off for the 450 Mile flight to Love Field in Dallas three hours into the flight around [35] miles west of Texarkana the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport Received a distress call from the DC-3 [till] number in Seven-11 why? They are smoke filling the cockpit and the cabin. [where's] the nearest airport? The Reply was Texarkana 20 miles away We can't make it. We're now on fire now if you take Highway 30 south of Texarkana To highway 82 [west] to the cap, Texas on the east side [of] the cab You'll see the williams house [Museum] there they house a portion of the tail section of Ricky Nelson's Plane They have a lot of helpful information about the crash site it very can people and they'll remind you also that the cab is also the burial and birthplace of Bonanzas [Dan] Blocker Horse cart right for example now. This is the in blockers high chair that they have there and It said that he was so big that he stumped out the bottom of it according [to] his mother They can also help you locate the plane crash site [now] [and] the Camp of Highway 80 we go east on Texas Farm Road? 1840 then south on Texas man Nanny for about a half a mile [to] the crash site and a cow pasture on the right The DC-3 tried to land on this road that we're on But veered off of fear of hit inaudible builds on their last pass they flew across this highway coming from the left and Landed in the pasture on the right Leaving a trail [of] gas and fire falling from the plane on the ground They were only two miles from a short landing field They stated We can't make it at 5:15 p.m.. On December Thirty first nineteen and Eighty-five DC-3 tail number in [Seven-11] why crashed into the line of trees ahead [of] us One of the plane's wings hit and broke this utility pole that you see still standing the plane hit the ground and bounced twice Leaving burnt spots in the Fields Before coming to rest in the treeline Although it was controlled landing the fire was so hot it melted the metal structure of the plane according to the Pilot [Ken] [Fersen] age 40 and Co-Pilot Brad Rank [age] 34 the plane was intact when he landed The tremendous heat from the fire is what destroyed the plane? By the time the plane came to a complete stop the Cabin and a cockpit was engulfed in flames Now this is the rear part of the fuselage that survived the fire It is the section right under the tailfin the two Pilots escaped through the emergency Cockpit windows They received second in third-degree burns They had to drop 15 feet to the ground out the windows The two Survivors were rushed to the st.. Michael's hospital in Texarkana both in critical condition Ricky Nelson age 45 his Fiancee Helen [Blair] 27 along with [Patrick] [Woodward] age 35 the bass player who actually had a [six-month-Old] son at home waiting on him and also, the drummer Ricky and Phil had celebrated his 23rd birthday. Just one day before his death Bobby neal 38 lead guitarist clark Russell 35 sound man and Road manager and Andy Champion 30 the pianist and keyboardist They were all found huddled against the cockpit door while the door was closed as an unanswered question The plane continued to burn for four hours before it could be put out the National Transportation Safety Board Investigated for one year the cause of the fire [and] crash on Dc 3 & 7 1 1 [why]? The cause was found to be a broken fuel line That fed the huge Cabin heater The fuel line had been replaced in Nebraska some six years earlier and it was out of date and with cracks if again spraying fuel Running down the inside belly of the plane unseen By the time the fuel caught fire it was coming up from the floor all the [way] down Look through the cabin and cockpit David Nelson Ricky's brother And [there's] 71 year old mother [herot] receive the news of Ricky's death along with the rest of the nation include the families of his fiancee and the stone canyon ban [Eric] Hillard Nelson Rickey was buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills, California not far from his dead [ozzy] who had died in 1975 at the age of 69 from Liver cancer Harriet Nelson passed away on October the [2nd] 1994 of congestive heart failure aged 85 She's buried with ozzy [enriching] David Nelson died the 12th of January 2011 aged 74 from Colon cancer He was cremated and his remains are buried at the Westwood Memorial park in Los Angeles
