When a Helicopter Crash Silenced ‘Number One' - The Story Behind the Stevie Ray Vaughan Helicopter Crash

Send us Fan MailThis episode is about the 1990 crash of a Bell JetRanger helicopter that was carrying a pilot and four passengers. The helicopter crashed into a ski slope at night and in the fog, killing all on board. Among the passengers was Stevie Ray Vaughan, the legendary Blues guitarist from Texas. The crash stunned the world with not only the crash that was attributed to pilot error, but the end of an amazing career of a guitarist that had burst onto the scene only seven years before with his debut album, Texas Flood, which went double-platinum and was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Traditional Blues Performance category. The crash occurred late at night and in fog. A lot of helicopters, unfortunately, have crashed in fog. Except that’s not the end of the story. In fact, it’s really only a cursory understanding of the crash, as there were other factors both before the crash and factors after the helicopter lifted above the ground – neither of which were mentioned in the official Aviation Accident Report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board. Though fog was a significant factor to the crash, there was another factor that was as surprising as it was dangerous, and it was perhaps even more lethal than the fog.