10 Country Stars Who Died in Plane Crashes

A Country Music Hall of Fame artist, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame artist and a legend who should get more consideration for both are on this list of country stars who died in plane crashes.

The odds of dying in a plane crash are tiny, but when you're flying weekly, they multiply. All of these crashes were private plane crashes. That's important to remember, if only so you can breathe easy the next time you board a 747.

Inclement weather and small planes tend to be a fatal combination. Patsy Cline died in a plane crash that was immortalized in the 1985 film Sweet Dreams, for which Jessica Lange was nominated for an Academy Award.

That same accident killed two other popular country singers, and it happened on a small plane in bad weather.

One of country music's earliest international stars was killed at the controls of his own private plane during a rainstorm, and another singing star also died due to poor visibility.

The circumstances around John Denver's death are extra sad, because it seemed so preventable. Just a few years earlier, a country legend lost eight members of her band when they boarded a private jet to travel between shows.

Even today, the threat of tragedy while flying private is higher than flying commercial. Sara Evans has talked about a near-death experience in a plane in 2012, and Cody Johnson told Taste of Country that his performance during his hit song "Til You Can't" was inspired by similar.

Most recently, Montgomery Gentry singer Troy Gentry died in a helicopter crash on Sept. 8, 2017, just hours before a planned Montgomery Gentry concert in New Jersey.