I've been up all night doing the same things (many times) in my 20's. I would drive from Orlando to New Smyrna, Cocoa, Sebastian... without incident. On the other hand, I once wrecked a car when my overly emotional girlfriend decided to grab the wheel.
We will never know exactly what caused the accident. Flying low to the ground was not a wise move, of course. If bystanders did in-fact witnessed Randy and Andrew wrestling for control of the aircraft, it is logical to assume this played a role in the resulting disaster. Whether Mr. Aycock was stoned, showing-off, trying to commit suicide, etc... makes no difference. Mr. Aycock had already made one flight without incident. I suppose this made Randy and Rachel feel more secure about taking the flight. Randy was heavily into photography, which meant he could get some great overhead photos of the area.
Back in the late 80's, I was talking with a well-known musician about the incident. He mentioned how you can get a false sense of invulnerability when you're out on-tour. He felt that this could have played some part in the decisions that were made on that day. Who can say for sure? Randy was my favorite player at that time, so it really took the wind out of my sails when he died. None of his predecessors came close to what Randy accomplished. 5 years of hair bands sliding across the stage playing Jackson guitars was more than I could stand. I had no interest in playing between 1986 and 1989. It wasn't until I heard Alice In Chains that my interest was rekindled. Sorry... I'm babbling.
