The band members and tour manager flew ahead, leaving McEntire, her then-husband and manager Narvel Blackstock, and her stylist Sandi Spika in San Diego for the night.
In a sad interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2012, McEntire recalled what happened next. The second plane took off and arrived at its destination unharmed, but the first jet to leave crashed barely 10 miles east of the airport.

“The tip of the plane’s wing hit a boulder on the edge of Otay Mountain, and it killed everyone on board,” McEntire told Oprah. “When we were notified, Narvel went to our pilot and told him what had happened.”