On Anniversary Of Plane Crash, Reba Mourns The Loss Of Her Fallen Bandmates

While promoting her 1990 album Rumor Has It, Reba McEntire and her band flew all over the country to perform the hit songs that the album produced, including “Fancy.”

The tour took them to San Diego, California, where they performed a private concert for an IBM company conference. Just a few hours after their 75-minute set, a private plane heading for Fort Wayne, Indiana for their next show carrying members of Reba’s band including fiddler Chris Austin, band leader Kirk Cappello, keyboardist Joey Cigainero, backup singer Paula Kaye Evans, tour manager Jim Hammon, bassist Terry Jackson, drummer Anthony Saputo, and guitarist Michael Thomas crashed into the side of Otay Mountain.

The crash killed everyone on board including the two pilots. Reba was incredibly close to each member of her band, even considering them part of her family.

“By far this is my darkest hour, the most awful thing that ever happened in my life,” Reba told People Magazine just days after the crash. “When you have eight people that you absolutely love and their lives are just wiped out – it’s devastating.”

She often pays tribute to her friends on the anniversary of the plane crash. A couple years ago, she was actually in San Diego and took a helicopter to the plane crash site to pay her respects.

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The following year, Reba released an album titled For My Broken Heart and dedicated it to her friends who lost their lives.

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On the 27th anniversary of that tragic day, Reba once again mourned the loss of her friends turned family – her beloved band.

“Friends forever. I know Suzy and Joe join me in saying we miss you guys and still love you with all our hearts! 27 year…seems like yesterday,” she captioned her tribute post on Instagram.

She included a photo of her band members who died that day, as well as a photo of her tour manager.

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Our hearts go out to Reba and her band members’ families. Watch her heartbreaking interview about the crash in the video below.