Today In Music History: Randy Rhoads Dies On March 19, 1982

Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Randy Rhoads was killed on this day in 1982 when a small plane he was piloting clipped the top of Osbourne's tour bus and crashed.

Rhoads, Osbourne and the rest of Ozzy's band were headed to a festival gig in Orlando and had stopped in nearby Leesburg, Fla. for the night. The property where they stopped was located next to a small airstrip with a few airplanes, one of which was owned by bus driver Andrew Aycock.

Aycock convinced Rhoads and hairdresser Rachel Youngblood to go on a test flight with him, despite Rhoads being very afraid of flying. Rhoads used the opportunity to take photos from the plane, but things went very wrong during the second flight.

Aycock decided he was going to try and "buzz" (fly very low over the top of) the tour bus. The third time he did this, the plane's wing clipped the bus and spiralled into a nearby house. Rhoads, Aycock and Youngblood were all killed instantly.

An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board later revealed Aycock's medical certificate had expired and his flight review was overdue. His autopsy also revealed traces of cocaine in his system.