The Tragic Flight That Forever Haunted Ozzy Osbourne: Remembering Randy Rhoads
SHOCKING ROCK 'N' ROLL TRAGEDY: OZZY OSBOURNE'S TOUR TURNS DEADLY
In the early 1980s, Ozzy Osbourne's tour of the United States became synonymous with one of the most shocking incidents in rock history. The Prince of Darkness had already made a name for himself as a wild child, but this time he was about to face a tragedy that would leave his fans and colleagues stunned.
It started on a routine tour bus trip when driver Andrew Aycock decided to take a detour to fix an air conditioning fault at the Flying Baron estates in Florida. But little did they know, their lives were about to take a drastic turn for the worse. Aycock, who held a pilot's license, convinced band manager Jake Duncan and keyboardist Don Airey to join him on a "joyride" in a stolen plane.
The plan was to buzz the tour bus as a prank, but things took a deadly turn when Rhoads, Ozzy's 25-year-old guitarist, boarded the Beech F35 despite his well-documented fear of flying. Rachel Youngblood, a makeup artist and hairdresser, also joined the ill-fated flight.
Eyewitness Don Airey described the scene: "I saw the plane approaching the tour bus at an alarmingly low altitude. I knew something was seriously wrong. At that point, I threw myself to the ground, praying it wouldn't hit me." Unfortunately, one of the plane's wings clipped the bus, causing it to flip over and collide with a colonial-era mansion.
The resulting fireball claimed three lives: Randy Rhoads, Andrew Aycock, and Rachel Youngblood. The authorities were forced to use dental records and jewelry to identify the victims. Ozzy himself was shaken by the incident, which left him feeling "back in that field looking at this f** plane wreck and a house on fire." He later revealed to Rolling Stone: "You never get over something like that. You're in shock."
Miraculously, Ozzy escaped injury, but the incident left him questioning whether he should continue the tour. However, his then-partner Sharon Osbourne, known for her tough-as-nails attitude, reminded him of the age-old dictum: "The show must go on." Despite the tragedy, the tour continued – until disaster struck again at New York's Madison Square Garden.
During Ozzy's performance, a fan tossed a firework onto the stage, which bounced around and exploded, leaving Sharon with a serious neck injury. Keyboardist Bernie Tormé recounted the harrowing incident: "Someone in the audience chucks a firework or something, which does the impossible and bounces under the [scrim] and hits Sharon in the neck, where it explodes – boom – right in front of me. She goes down like a rag doll – blood everywhere – two crew guys run out and pick her up and she's gone."
Fortunately, Sharon made a full recovery, but the incident highlighted the risks that rock stars face on tour. The National Transportation Safety Board later concluded that the air crash was caused by "pilot error," with Aycock deemed to have stolen the plane without permission.
The report revealed: "The pilot, who was a rock group driver, took an aircraft from the hangar without permission to joyride members of the group. During the second flight, the aircraft wing hit the bus during one of several low passes over the area. The aircraft then hit a tree and a residence. A post-crash fire occurred."
As we reflect on this tragic incident, it serves as a poignant reminder that rock 'n' roll is not just about music – it's also about mortality.
