Reba McEntire remembers the day she lost her band in a horrific plane crash 32 years ago
But she wasn’t.
Reba and her band had performed in San Diego on March 16, 1991, and was heading to Fort Wayne, Ind., to perform their next concert on the tour.
Two planes were waiting at the airport in San Diego – the band members and tour manager flew on ahead while Reba, her husband and manager stayed overnight in San Diego.
The first aircraft tragically met with disaster just ten miles east of the airport.
Over the years, Reba has often paid tribute to her lost friends.
In an emotional interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2012, she spoked out about the day her band perished.
“The tip of the wing of the airplane hit a rock on the side of Otay Mountain, and it killed everyone on the plane,” McEntire told Winfrey.
“When we were notified, Narvel (Reba’s manager) went and met with our pilot, and he told us what had happened. And Narvel came back to the hotel room where I was — it was two or three o’clock in the morning — and he said one of the planes had crashed, and I said, ‘Are they OK?’ He said, ‘I don’t think so.’ I said, ‘But you’re not sure?’ He said, ‘I don’t think so.’”
Reba had tears in her eyes as she recalled the details of the tragedy.
“Narvel was going room to room with a phone and calling …” she began, pausing as tears came to her eyes. “I’m sorry — it’s been 20 years, but it’s just like — I don’t guess it ever quits hurting,” she said. “But I can see that room. I can see Narvel walking back and forth.”
Now, 32 years has passed since the crash. Recently, she posted a photo of her band on Instagram recalling the day’s tragic events from that day.