h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

When I visited Colorado in 1977, I saw alot of bumper stickers that said ' John Denver Get Out!'

I guess you can't please all of the people all of the time...

I think it was the influx of Hippies and tourists that had the locals going.

Tourists....

john denver wrote leaving on a jet plane and died in one/spooky

Well, ... no. It's not very spooky.
First, John died flying home-built, not in a jet plane.
Secondly, there is every indication that it was not so much an accident, as a choice (sadly).

Why do you say that? There is no indication that it was anything but an accident. There was an inquiry, and the findings were that it was an accident caused in part by the design of the plane. The insurance company have payed out a sum of money to John's family. They would not have done this if it had not been an accident.
If John had wanted to kill himself this way why would he buy a new plane when he had three already? Incidently one was a Lear Jet - a far more appropriate choice in view of his song 'Leaving on a Jet Plane' if he had chosen to go that way - but he didn't. It was an accident.

Hi forestchild,

I certainly wouldn't say it to be mean, but there is still a lot of controversy surrounding John's death. Personally, I'd love to wholeheartedly believe that it was entirely accidental. There are some sad truths about his state of mind at the time that indicated he may have been depressed enough to take his own life.

People who live in that strata, and survive as much as he did, have to maintain certain self-image levels. When these are questioned or compromised and perceived control is lost, the effects can be dramatic and even catastrophic.

If John did want to end his own life, I don't think the Lear would have occurred to him because it would be too impersonal. If he did want to (and this is absolutely an assumption) fly to his death, it would be in as much of an free-flying, eagle-like fashion as he could manage. That particular craft was precisely suited to that kind of feeling.

There are those who claim that he was simply too good and careful a pilot to have not checked the unit out carefully, or to have over-challenged its design.

We will never absolutely know. And, for us, perhaps it is better we do not. If you believe in an after-life, pray that we get the opportunity to clear these kinds of things up.

Today, I am a crying towel.

The thing is that his plane ran out of fuel from the main tank. Because of his plane's lack of height above the ground and the awkwardness of the fuel lever, he wasn't able to switch to the reserve tank and thereby start the engine. This lack of power is what caused the plane to crash. Reliable witnesses have testified to these things. Other pilots (admittedly flying higher) had reported similar problems. That was why the Long EZ was/is called "Experimental"!!! Also there was the sound of the engine trying to restart. As his brother Ron says, "He was planning to record more songs with a Major label!"