Aug. 15, 1935: Will Rogers, cowboy humorist and star of vaudeville and film, dies in plane crash near Point Barrow, Alaska, along with aviator Wiley Post.
Jan. 16, 1942: Carole Lombard, actress in such comedies as "Nothing Sacred," is killed in plane crash near Las Vegas while on a tour to sell war bonds. She was 33.Dec. 15, 1944, A plane carrying Glenn Miller, trombonist and leader of a hugely popular dance band, known for such hits as "Moonlight Serenade" and "In the Mood," disappears on flight from England to Paris while Miller was serving in the Army entertaining troops. He was 40.
Feb. 3, 1959: A plane carrying singers Buddy Holly, J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson and Ritchie Valens crashes near Mason City, Iowa, en route to a show in Fargo, N.D. Holly, the pioneering rocker whose hits included "Peggy Sue," was 22. Richardson, whose big hit was "Chantilly Lace," was 29. Valens, famous for such songs as "La Bamba" and "Donna," was 18.
March 5, 1963: Patsy Cline, whose country hits included "Crazy" and "She's Got You," dies in a plane crash near Camden, Tenn., at age 31. Also killed were Grand Ole Opry stars Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins and the pilot.
Dec. 10, 1967: Soul singer Otis Redding dies in a plane crash in Wisconsin along with members of his band, the Bar-Kays. He was 26. His greatest hit, the somber ballad "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay," was released after his death.
Sept. 20, 1973: Jim Croce dies in an air crash near Natchitoches, La., at age 30. He had put together a string of rock hits, such as the poignant "Time in a Bottle" and the witty "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown."
Oct. 21, 1977: Lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Stevie Gaines of the Lynyrd Skynyrd band, which carved a niche in the rock world with its image as hard-drinking, hell-raising Southerners, are killed in a plane crash in McComb, Miss.
March 19, 1982: Randy Rhoads, 25, lead guitarist for heavy metal star Ozzy Osbourne, is killed when the plane in which he was flying buzzes Osbourne's tour bus and crashes into a house in Leesburg, Fla.
Dec. 31, 1985: Rick Nelson is among seven people who died in a New Year's Eve plane crash near DeKalb, Texas. Nelson, 45, was first a TV star, the son of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson; he achieved musical stardom in the late 1950s and early '60s with "I'm Walkin' " and "Travelin' Man."
March 21, 1987: Entertainer Dean Martin's son, Dino Martin, who as member of '60s pop group Dino, Desi and Billy had a hit called "I'm a Fool," is killed in the crash of an Air National Guard jet in California's San Bernardino Mountains. He was 35.
Aug. 27, 1990: Blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, 35, is killed when a helicopter crashes into a hill in East Troy, Wis., after departing from a concert.
March 16, 1991: Seven members of singer Reba McEntire's band are among 10 people killed in crash near San Diego.
Oct. 11, 1997: John Denver, one of the biggest recording stars of the 1970s with hits like "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and "Annie's Song," dies in crash of his experimental plane off California coast.