Details of Randy Rhoads death.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Samhain
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Huge Randy fan here as well. I had heard many years ago on one of the many Rhoads forums, that the supposed "struggle" that occurred and has been talked about for so long wasn't between Randy and Aycock. The story/theory or whatever you want to call it is that Rachel was sitting in the front seat and suffered some kind of medical issue (she was known to have heart problems) and had slumped over into the controls of the plane. Randy (in the back seat) was trying to pull her off of the controls, and that is what many perceived to be the "struggle" that has been debated. That being said, I wasn't there so this is really all just conjecture at best.
...or maybe Andrew Aycock suffered a heart attack, and Randy was trying to steer the aircraft. Maybe Randy dropped a cigarette into his film caddy, which cause the nitro film to ignite. Maybe Randy was fighting off advances by Aycock? We just don't know. What we do know is that Rachael and Randy felt safe getting into the plane with Aycock at the helm. Had Aycock said; "Get on board! I'm going to buzz the tour bus doing 120 knots...", I'm pretty darn sure they would have declined the offer to join him. It was a foolish decision by Aycock, because not only did he kill himself, he basically murdered his passengers.

Here's the thing... Aycock was buzzing the bus with Jake Duncan and Don Airey on-board. Why would Randy not expect Aycock to do the same? Weird. The "suicide" angle makes no sense at all. If that were the case, Aycock would have just flown the plane into the bus.
 
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Honestly, the official account doesn't seem to be lacking. A guy was flying a plane he wasn't authorized to fly, performing stunt maneuvers he wasn't qualified to do, with passengers that shouldn't have been in there even if was qualified. An autopsy of the pilot still would have shown an infarction. Are there any photos from the telephoto lens showing Randy out of his seat or Rachael or the pilot slumped over, or is that just the traumatized recollection of what someone thought they saw inside a plane buzzing by at 125mph? The pilot could have just as easily been blinded by a glare that occurred on the second pass but not the first, and misjudged how close the wing was. Of the things we know, the entire chain of decisions were misjudgments on the pilot's part. He flew the fucking plane into a bus and then into a building. Anything else is a guess.
 
Honestly, the official account doesn't seem to be lacking. A guy was flying a plane he wasn't authorized to fly, performing stunt maneuvers he wasn't qualified to do, with passengers that shouldn't have been in there even if was qualified. An autopsy of the pilot still would have shown an infarction. Are there any photos from the telephoto lens showing Randy out of his seat or Rachael or the pilot slumped over, or is that just the traumatized recollection of what someone thought they saw inside a plane buzzing by at 125mph? The pilot could have just as easily been blinded by a glare that occurred on the second pass but not the first, and misjudged how close the wing was. Of the things we know, the entire chain of decisions were misjudgments on the pilot's part. He flew the fucking plane into a bus and then into a building. Anything else is a guess.
Truth. All speculation that can never be verified. A huge loss and a very unfortunate situation are the only facts to me. Alot of these speculations fit the story and could be possible but we just don't know.
 
Fuck planes. Let's talk about this!



There was a Randy Rhoads special edition of guitar player or guitar world or one of those that came out around the same time as tribute. Probably one of the first guitar magazines I ever bought. I hadn't been playing guitar for very long. I remember going back and listening to Blizzard, and it just blew my mind. I had no idea who he was until 5 years after he died. He's a large part of why I ended up getting a degree in music.
 
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Sadly, you also have to question the logic of two people getting into a stolen/ broken into plane. Plan seemed very rock n roll and doomed from the get go.

The death no doubt adds to the legacy though. I binge listen to all the bootlegs on YouTube and it is insane that his best live performances weren't even released as part of tribute or other. There are so many nights where he is ripping and carrying the whole band. Such a small guy but what a presence and sound.
 
Sadly, you also have to question the logic of two people getting into a stolen/ broken into plane.

We're talking about a culture that thought tossing large glass tube TVs out of 20 story hotel windows
was a normal way to blow off steam after a show.....
 
Pure assumption. What proof do you have the Mr. Aycock was in such an extremely compromised condition? The fact that he had already made one flight is a positive indication he was not. If there were any suspicions that Mr. Aycock was impaired, no one would have gotten on the plane.


Non sequitur. I did not compare piloting a ground vehicle to an aerial vehicle... I was suggesting that Mr. Aycock established trust by transporting them without incident.
I like how you call my statement “pure assumption,” and then follow with statements that are pure assumption. :clap:
 
I like how you call my statement “pure assumption,” and then follow with statements that are pure assumption. :clap:
Incorrect. My comments are based on eyewitness accounts and statements. Hence, they as presumptive.
 
Bottom line is whatever happened we all KNOW the outcome.. and it sucked! For some reason what really hit me was in the autopsy report about him losing his right hand. According to Rudy Sarzo Randy had already told Oz that he was leaving after the Speak of the Devil album so I dunno what if any animosity there was between them. I'm sure that all faded when Randy died but I cant imagine those few gigs after Randy told him would have been fun.. or at least the bus rides!
 
Assume much?
...or maybe Andrew Aycock suffered a heart attack, and Randy was trying to steer the aircraft. Maybe Randy dropped a cigarette into his film caddy, which cause the nitro film to ignite. Maybe Randy was fighting off advances by Aycock? We just don't know. What we do know is that Rachael and Randy felt safe getting into the plane with Aycock at the helm. Had Aycock said; "Get on board! I'm going to buzz the tour bus doing 120 knots...", I'm pretty darn sure they would have declined the offer to join him. It was a foolish decision by Aycock, because not only did he kill himself, he basically murdered his passengers.

Here's the thing... Aycock was buzzing the bus with Jake Duncan and Don Airey on-board. Why would Randy not expect Aycock to do the same? Weird. The "suicide" angle makes no sense at all. If that were the case, Aycock would have just flown the plane into the bus.
 
Assume much?
...or maybe Andrew Aycock suffered a heart attack, and Randy was trying to steer the aircraft. Maybe Randy dropped a cigarette into his film caddy, which cause the nitro film to ignite. Maybe Randy was fighting off advances by Aycock? We just don't know. What we do know is that Rachael and Randy felt safe getting into the plane with Aycock at the helm. Had Aycock said; "Get on board! I'm going to buzz the tour bus doing 120 knots...", I'm pretty darn sure they would have declined the offer to join him. It was a foolish decision by Aycock, because not only did he kill himself, he basically murdered his passengers.

Here's the thing... Aycock was buzzing the bus with Jake Duncan and Don Airey on-board. Why would Randy not expect Aycock to do the same? Weird. The "suicide" angle makes no sense at all. If that were the case, Aycock would have just flown the plane into the bus.
No, I don't. I was merely expanding on the assumptive comments made by the op. i.e. Sarcasm.
 
No, I don't. I was merely expanding on the assumptive comments made by the op. i.e. Sarcasm.
Dude, you’ve made plenty of assumptions yourself throughout this whole thread. Get over yourself...
 
According to Rudy Sarzo Randy had already told Oz that he was leaving after the Speak of the Devil album so I dunno what if any animosity there was between them.

Never read about any bad feelings. Randy wanted to take some time off from touring
to resume his classical guitar studies and Ozzy was cool with it.
 
Never read about any bad feelings. Randy wanted to take some time off from touring
to resume his classical guitar studies and Ozzy was cool with it.

Not so sure, Tommy Aldridge confirmed that Oz punched Randy in the face being angry at his decision because he knew RR got him back to the show. Sharon has also said she slept with Randy once but it was very loving. Again, in hindsight you can create a romanticized version of history in your own head. He was just a normal guy who loved music and was great at it, he doesn't need to be an angel or anything more. they portray him as such all the time and I hope they mean it and aren't just selling the brand.

Bob Daisley: "I didn't see it first-hand but Tommy Aldridge told me that Ozzy punched Randy in the face when he found out Randy wanted to leave. I also heard from a very good source that Sharon went into the office soon after (hours or days) Randy was killed and changed his contract. Mrs. Rhoads had to sue the Osbournes for years for her son's royalties thereafter. Nice little camp, eh?"

Sharon... all class.
 
He was one among many high profile deaths in the Beechcraft Bonanza, nicknamed the “v-tailed doctor killer” for its association with many high profile crashes.
 
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