In the summer of 1977, members of the rock band Aerosmith
inspected an airplane they were considering chartering for
their upcoming tour—a Convair 240 (above) operated out of
Addison, Texas. Concerns over the flight crew led Aerosmith
to look elsewhere. a decision that saved one band but doomed
another. The aircraft in question was instead chartered by the
band Lynyrd Skynyrd, who were just setting out that autumn
on a national tour that promised to be their biggest to date.

On October 20, 1977, however, during a flight from Greenville,
South Carolina, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s
tour plane crashed in a heavily wooded area of southwestern 
Mississippi during a failed emergency landing attempt, killing
band-members Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Cassie
Gaines as well as the band’s assistant road manager and the
plane’s pilot and co-pilot. Twenty others survived the crash.

John Jay (December 23, 1745 – May 17, 1829)

(FOX NEWS) – Founding Father John Jay, a towering figure
among the intellectual giants who forged the nation, was
sworn in as first chief justice of the Supreme Court of the
United States on this day in history, Oct. 19, 1789. 

The New York native held the title until resigning in 1795,
among the shortest tenures for the prestigious lifetime
appointment.

Only 16 other people have held the title of Supreme Court
chief justice in the 227 years since.

On the night of May 14, 1829, Jay was stricken with palsy,
probably caused by a stroke. He lived for three more days,
dying in Bedford, New York.

Jay’s childhood home in Rye, New York is a New York
State Historic Site and Westchester County Park.

Jay’s retirement home near Katonah, New York.

(FOX NEWS) – Burt Young, the Oscar-nominated actor
known for his role as Paulie in "Rocky," has died.  

According to the New York Times, Young died on Oct.
8 in Los Angeles. 

His cause of death was not immediately known.

Burt Young starred in six of the "Rocky" films alongside Sylvester Stallone (left).

NANCY LYONS

On This Day In 1977 Concorde Made Its First Visit to New York’s
JFK Airport. It was no-passenger proving flight from Toulouse
to JFK.

The supersonic jet was initially barred from the Big Apple due
to noise concerns. The ban came to an end on 17 October.

Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931)

Thomas Alva Edison, one of the most prolific inventors in
history, died of complications of diabetes in his home, 
in Llewellyn Park in West Orange, New Jersey.Edison was
buried behind the home. He was 84

Edison’s last breath is reportedly contained in a test tube
at The Henry Ford museum near Detroit. Ford reportedly
convinced Charles Edison to seal a test tube of air in the
inventor’s room shortly after his death, as a memento.