FULLER UP HOME GRIM REAPER PAGE CAUSES OF DEATH SEARCH BY NAME GET IN TOUCH SHAMEFUL DISCLAIMER     Fuller Up, The Dead Musician Directory    John Denver   Plane Crash Oct. 12, 1997  Age 53  OBITUARY   BIOGRAPHY   LINKS

     OBITUARY                                         Report on Crash: 

John Denver killed in plane crash                       October 13, 1997                           SALINAS, California (CNN) --                         Singer and songwriter John                         Denver, whose '70 hits such as                         "Rocky Mountain High" and                         "Take Me Home, Country Roads"                         gained him worldwide fame, was                         killed Sunday when his small                         aircraft plunged into Monterey                         Bay, officials said Monday. He                         was 53.                         His remains were positively identified by the Monterey County                         Coroner's Office through fingerprints obtained from the state of                         Colorado, Monterey County Sheriff Norman Hicks said. The                         National Transportation Safety Board was pursuing details on the                         cause of the crash itself, while the sheriff's coroners will be                         investigating the circumstances surrounding the cause of death, he                         said.                         "We share a sense of shock and loss to our community, our nation                         and the world, and we extend our heartfelt sympathy to the many                         friends, the family, and the many admirers of John Denver," Hicks                         said at a Monday news conference.                         Denver was piloting the two-seat light plane along the California                         coast when the engine failed shortly after 5 p.m., plunging him into                         ocean waters just past Monterey Bay.                                                     He was believed to be the                                                     sole person on board the                                                     single-engine fiberglass plane,                                                     which he owned. It was                                                     considered an experimental                                                     aircraft, said Pacific Grove                                                     police Lt. Carl Miller.                                                     It took officials several hours                                                     to positively identify Denver's                                                     remains.                                                     Denver owned a home on                                                     Monterey Peninsula, a coastal                                                     area south of San Francisco,                                                    and visited the area often, Hicks said.                         Lt. Dave Allard, spokesman for the Monterey County sheriff's                         department, said an autopsy would be conducted Monday.                         Toxicology tests, standard for fatal crashes, also will be                         conducted, he said.                         Teri Martell, whose sister Annie was the singer's first wife, had told                         CNN early Monday that Denver "was a very experienced pilot."                         Martell said Annie was told he was practicing taking off and                         landing when the accident occurred.                         Denver was in a previous plane accident in April 1989. He walked                         away uninjured after the 1931 biplane he was piloting spun around                         while taxiing at an airport in northern Arizona.                         In 1995, a flight instructor sued Denver for a runway run-in at                         Jackson Hole Airport in Wyoming. The instructor alleged the                         singer was piloting his Christen Eagle in 1994 when the airplane                         taxied into the flight instructor's Cessna.                         Denver's career                         Denver had 14 gold and eight platinum albums in the United                         States, and was popular around the world. According to Sony                         Records, Denver's current label, he is one of the five top-selling                         artists in the history of the music industry.                         In addition to music and television awards, Denver also received                         recognition from several environmental groups for his advocacy of                         his beloved Rocky Mountains. Then-Colorado Gov. John                         Vanderhoof named Denver the state's Poet Laureate in 1974.                         Denver lived in Aspen since the early 1970s.                         Born Henry John Deutschendorf, Denver traveled throughout his                         childhood. After studying architecture at Texas Tech, he went west                         in 1965 to pursue a career in folk music.                         His first taste of musical success was in                         1969, when the folk trio Peter, Paul and                         Mary recorded Denver's "Leavin' on a                         Jet Plane," which went on to become                         the Number 1 song in the country.                         Denver's voice first hit the charts in                         1971, when "Take me Home, Country                         Roads" went to Number 2.                         "Country Roads" was Denver's first million-seller. A string of hits                         followed in the 1970s, including "Rocky Mountain High," "Thank                         God I'm a Country Boy" and "Annie's Song," an ode to his wife.                         They separated in 1983 and later divorced.                         In 1977, Denver made his big-screen acting debut in "Oh, God,"                         opposite George Burns. He made occasional acting appearances                         over the years, but was better known for his television specials.                         Denver appeared in several Christmas shows, including two with                         Jim Henson's Muppets.                         In 1984 and '85, Denver was one of the first Western artists to                         tour the Soviet Union following a resumption of cultural exchanges                         with the United States. He was also one of the first Western artists                         to go on a multi-city tour of China, in 1992.                         Standup comics and newspaper                         cartoonists leapt on a 1988                         "Aviation Week & Space                         Technology" report that Denver                         asked Soviet space officials to                         launch him to the Mir space station.                         The cash-strapped Soviets were                         reportedly considering the idea, with                         a price of $10 million.                         Denver's legal troubles have made                         headlines in recent years. Charged                         with driving under the influence in 1993, Denver pleaded guilty to                         the lesser charge of driving while impaired.                         He was again charged with DUI when his Porsche ran off the road                         in his Aspen, Colorado, neighborhood in 1994. The trial for that                         charge ended with a hung jury in July 1997. Denver's defense                         argued that the singer's thyroid condition made alcohol tests                         unreliable.                         In August 1997, "The Best of John Denver Live" reached Number                         47 on the country album charts. It was Denver's first chart                         appearance since 1988.        John Denver crash report points to fuel problems                   Web posted on: Tuesday, June 23, 1998                     MONTEREY, California                     (CNN) -- The plane crash that killed singer-songwriter John Denver could                     have been caused by several factors related to the amount of fuel in the                     plane when it went down in the Pacific Ocean during a practice flight off the                     California coast, according to a report by the National Transportation Safety                     Board released Monday.                     While drawing no firm conclusions, the NTSB report stated that Denver's                     homemade Long E-Z plane was almost certainly low on fuel when --                     according to witnesses -- it sputtered, nosedived and crashed 150 yards                     from shore. The report also said that the plane's fuel selector handle -- which                     switches the fuel flow to a backup tank -- was in a hard-to-reach location,                     making it difficult for the pilot to reach it and make a switch if the primary                     tank ran dry.                     Denver, known for such popular 1970s hits as "Rocky Mountain High,"                     "Take Me Home, Country Roads," and "Sunshine On My Shoulders," died                     in the October 12 crash. A five-member NTSB board will study the report                     to determine a probable cause for the accident.                                                Low on fuel                                                The report says fueling records show                                                that the plane was most likely low on fuel                                                when Denver took off from the                                                Monterey Peninsula Airport in the late                                                afternoon to practice takeoffs and                                                landings.                                                Denver bought the plane the day before                     the crash. After he bought the plane, but prior to the crash, the plane had                     been flown 100 miles from Santa Maria to Monterey, and then flown on the                     day of the crash. Investigators said that activity would have used 12 to 17                     gallons of gas, but the last known quantity on board was 15 gallons before                     the test flight. There was no record of Denver refueling the plane.                     Furthermore, it would have been difficult for Denver to tell if he was out of                     gas because the fuel gauges in the Long E-Z are visible only from the seat                     behind the pilot's. A mechanic at the Monterey airport did give Denver a                     mirror so he could try to see the gauges from the pilot's seat. The mirror was                     recovered in the wreckage.                                      Flaw in design?                     But even if Denver had known that his fuel levels were running low in one                     tank, it would have been awkward for him to switch to the other tank. Plans                     for the Long E-Z call for the fuel selector handle to be located between the                     pilot's legs. But in this case, the plane's builder, Adrian Davis Jr., had                     installed the tank switch behind the pilot's left shoulder because, he said, he                     did not want fuel in the cockpit.                     As constructed, Denver, an experienced pilot, would have had to remove his                     safety belts, take his right hand off the control stick and turn in his seat in                     order to switch from one fuel tank to another. That maneuver, as tested by                     NTSB officials, takes six to eight seconds.                     "Two pilots shared experiences of having inadvertently run a fuel tank dry                     with near catastrophic consequences because of the selector and (fuel)                     gauge locations," the report said.                                    No medical certificate                     On the day of the crash, Denver and a maintenance technician talked about                     the inaccessibility of the handle. They tried to install a pair of vice grips to                     make the handle longer and easier to reach, but the effort failed.                     The report also confirmed that Denver lacked an aviation medical certificate                     -- a requirement for a valid pilot's license -- at the time of the crash.                     The Federal Aviation Administration had disqualified Denver for the                     certificate in March 1997, after learning that he had violated a previous FAA                     order to abstain from drinking. An autopsy showed no signs of alcohol or                     drugs at the time of the crash.                     Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.     NTSB says low fuel part of accident that killed John Denver                   January 26, 1999                                         WASHINGTON (AP) -- Singer John Denver died in an airplane crash                    because he took off with too little fuel in one tank, had trouble switching to                    his backup tank and inadvertently put his plane into a roll while his attention                    was diverted, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded Tuesday.                    The board, in a 5-0 vote, also blamed a builder's decision to relocate the                    fuel-tank-selector handle, an absence of markings on the handle and nearby                    fuel gauges, as well as Denver's lack of training in his new plane. It crashed                    Oct. 12, 1997, off Pacific Grove, California.                     The board urged the Federal Aviation Administration and the Experimental                    Aircraft Association to develop a program under which new pilots of                    experimental planes -- like the one Denver was flying _ would receive                    formalized training before their first flights. Board members noted the planes                    are sometimes difficult to handle.                     "This is not just somebody who flew his (Cessna) 172 around the pattern,"                    said board member Robert T. Francis. "This was an experienced pilot."                     The 53-year-old singer-songwriter, famous for such hits as "Rocky                    Mountain High" and "Sunshine On My Shoulders," was the lone passenger                    when his plane plunged about 150 feet straight into the waters off                    California's Monterey Peninsula.                     He had bought the aircraft only two weeks earlier and had limited flying time                    as its pilot.                     After hearing from its investigators, the board concluded that Denver's plane                    had only about three gallons of fuel in its left tank when he took off from the                    Monterey Peninsula Airport in the late afternoon to practice takeoffs and                    landings. The right tank had only about six gallons, but Denver declined an                    offer to refuel.                     Witnesses said they heard a sputter, and investigators theorize that he ran                    out of fuel in the left tank and had trouble switching to his right tank.                     The plans for Denver's homemade Long E-Z say the fuel-selector handle --                    which switches the fuel flow between the left and right tanks -- should be                    located between the pilot's legs. But the plane's builder, Texas aircraft maker                    Adrian Davis Jr., told investigators he put it behind the pilot's left shoulder                    because he did not want fuel in the cockpit.                     On the day of the crash, Denver and a maintenance technician talked about                    the inaccessibility of the handle. "They tried a pair of Vise Grip pliers on the                    handle to extend the reach of the handle, but this did not work," said one                    investigative report.                     Under those circumstances, the pilot would have had to remove his shoulder                    harness, turn around and switch the handle. While doing so, the pilot would                    press on the plane's right rudder pedal, causing the aircraft to roll.                     The investigators told the board that Denver may have been unfamiliar with                    the plane's fuel gauges and the tank-selector handle because they were not                    marked.                     The fuel gauges -- with vertical windows showing the fuel in each wing tank                    -- also can be misleading because they do not represent the volume in a                    linear fashion. When the fuel rises to one-quarter on the window, for                    example, it does not indicate that the 26-gallon tank is one-quarter full. In                    reality, it contains less than 5 gallons.                     The EAA, a widely praised private group, has developed a program to                    teach many first-time pilots how to make a safe transition to their new                    planes. The safety board now wants the FAA and EAA to require more                    formalized training for pilots of experimental planes.                     Also, the board recommended that the FAA require markings on vital                    aircraft controls such as the fuel gauge and tank-selector handle, and also                    demand that the markings be inspected annually.

 

 

BIOGRAPHY

John Denver   (b. Henry John Deutschendorf Jnr., 31 December 1943, Roswell, New Mexico).   One of America's most popular performers during the '70s, Denver's rise to fame began   when he was ‘discovered’ in a Los Angeles night club. He initially joined the Back Porch   Majority, a nursery group for the renowned New Christy Minstrels but, tiring of his role   there, left for the Chad Mitchell Trio where he forged a reputation as a talented songwriter.   With the departure of the last original member, the Mitchell Trio became known as Denver,   Boise and Johnson, but their brief life-span ended when John embarked on a solo career in   1969. One of his compositions, Leaving On A Jet Plane, provided an international hit for   Peter, Paul And Mary, and this evocative song was the highlight of Denver's debut album,   RHYMES AND REASONS. Subsequent releases, TAKE ME TO TOMORROW and   WHOSE GARDEN WAS THIS, garnered some attention, but it was not until the release   of POEMS, PRAYERS AND PROMISES that the singer enjoyed popular acclaim when   one of its tracks, Take Me Home, Country Roads, broached the US Top 3 and became a   UK Top 20 hit for Olivia Newton-John in 1973. The song's undemanding homeliness   established a light, almost naive style, consolidated on the albums AERIE and ROCKY   MOUNTAIN HIGH. I'd Rather Be A Cowboy (1973) and Sunshine On My Shoulders   (1974) were both gold singles, while a third million-seller, Annie's Song, secured Denver's   international status when it topped the UK charts that same year and subsequently became   an MOR standard, as well as earning the classical flautist James Galway a UK number 3 hit in 1978. Further US chart success came in 1975 with two number 1 hits, Thank God I'm A   Country Boy and I'm Sorry. Denver's status as an all-round entertainer was enhanced by   many television spectaculars, including ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHRISTMAS, and further   gold-record awards for AN EVENING WITH JOHN DENVER and WINDSONG, ensuring   that 1975 was the artist's most successful year to date.   He continued to enjoy a high profile throughout the rest of the decade and forged a concurrent acting career with his role in the film comedy OH, GOD with George Burns. In 1981 his   songwriting talent attracted the attention of yet another classically trained artist, when opera   singer Placido Domingo duetted with Denver on Perhaps Love. However, although Denver   became an unofficial musical ambassador with tours to Russia and China, his recording   became less prolific as increasingly he devoted time to charitable work and ecological interests.   Despite the attacks by music critics, who have deemed his work as bland and saccharine,   Denver's cute, simplistic approach has nonetheless achieved a mass popularity which is the   envy of many artists.     ~ MUSIC CENTRAL '96 ~

 

LINKS

Rocky Mountain High Fan Club   John Denver Memorial Page  Sony's Denver Site Gabriele Gramaglia's Tribute