A tragic flight that became a haunting legend demanded attention of many seeking to probe deeper into its harrowing story of Lynyrd Skynyrd's loss. An airborne tune silenced, as the band's chartered plane crashed into a Mississippi swamp, leaving musicians and fans stunned with despair and the forever-looming questions decades on. The gruesome tale of what befell became the subject of documentaries which follow the last few hours of rock's southern heroes.

Ecohing the immense grief and curiosities, Lynyrd Skynyrd's tale is available across several platforms.

Lynyrd Skynyrd's October 20, 1977 plane crash was too spine-chilling to be contained within one obscure documentary. A tragedy of that magnitude needed multiple versions to be inspected into, however, one of the most definitive versions of the story locks in one key title, Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash (2020). It is available to watch on Apple TV+ and can be purchased or rented on VOD services like Fandango at Home, Amazon Video in the US. Users can stream it for free with ads support on Tubi, hoopla, The Roku Channel. 

While Street Survivors dramatizes the fatal journey in a musical survival drama, If I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film About  Lynyrd Skynyrd (2018) provides a broader look back at the band's ascension, the crash and its consequences, with surviving members' recollections and archival material. Netflix houses the authorized documentary in some regions; however, the US audience can stream it on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV through rental or purchase. Beyond this, Prime Video, Tubi, hoopla, The Roku Channel host another documentary, I'll Never Forget You: The Last 72 Hours of Lynyrd Skynyrd (2019). Meanwhile 2015's Gone with the Wind: The Remarkable Rise and Tragic Fall of Lynyrd Skynyrd is streaming on Plex Player, Pluto TV, Flimzie, and Fawsome, making the unfathomable tragic story accessible.

7 True Crime Documentaries to Watch After ‘Monster: Ed Gein’ – Must-See Chilling Stories

Together with both dramatized and documented versions of the story, lenses confront the crash’s legacy decades from its incidence. 

Lynyrd Skynyrd, formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964, became the pioneers of Southern rock, combining blues, boogie and raw emotion. On October 20, 1977, their chartered Convair CV-240 fuel ran out en route to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and crashed in a wooded area at Gillsburg, Mississippi. The tragedy killed six: the band's leader Ronnie  Van  Zant, guitarist Steve  Gaines, his sister and backing singer Cassie  Gaines, their assistant roadmanager Dean Kilpatrick, and the two pilots. 

Twenty others were badly hurt but survived and the incident irrevocably changed the band's path. Since then, Lynyrd Skynyrd's tale has become shorthand for victory, tragedy and survival. Their story about the crash continue to be retold with fresh interviews, footage and revelation after Van Zant's brother Johnny reformed the band ten years following the crash. Sitting atop among several unique music documentaries, Lynyrd Skynyrd's plane crash remains a perennially mourned legacy that remembers the tragedy and the psychological burden shouldered by survivors and they are easier to access now than ever.

One Direction Documentary on Netflix: Will Harry Styles and Niall Horan Appear on The Road Trip?

Have you watched any of Lynyrd Skynyrd's documentary yet? Comment below.