Patsy Cline Crash Site Investigation

On March 5, 1963, American country music performers Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas, and Hawkshaw Hawkins were killed in an airplane crash near Camden, Tennessee, United States, along with the pilot Randy Hughes. The accident occurred as the three artists were returning home to Nashville, Tennessee, after performing in Kansas City, Kansas.

Shortly after takeoff from a refueling stop, pilot Hughes lost control of the small Piper PA-24 Comanche while flying in low-visibility conditions, and subsequently crashed into a wooded area, leaving no survivors. Investigators concluded that the crash was caused by the non-instrument-rated pilot's decision to operate under visual flight rules in instrument meteorological conditions.

Around 2 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 1963, the Piper Comanche, piloted by Randy Hughes, departed Fairfax Municipal Airport in Kansas City, Kansas. It was operating as an unscheduled cross-country passenger flight under visual flight rules to its destination of Nashville, 411 nautical miles to the southeast. Later that afternoon, the aircraft landed to refuel at Rogers Municipal Airport in Rogers, Arkansas, and departed 15 minutes later.

Hughes later made contact with Dyersburg Regional Airport in Dyersburg, Tennessee, and landed there at 5:05 pm, where he requested a weather briefing for the remainder of the flight to Nashville. He was informed by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employee Leroy Neal that local conditions were marginal for VFR flight and weather at the destination airport was below VFR minima. Hughes then asked if the Dyersburg runways were lit at night in case he had to return and Neal replied that they were. Hughes then informed Neal he would fly east towards the Tennessee River and navigate to Nashville from there, as he was familiar with the terrain in that area. He expressed concern about a 2,049-foot high television transmitting tower north of Nashville, and then stated that he would attempt the flight and return if the weather conditions worsened.

After refueling, the passengers and pilot re-boarded the Piper Comanche. Hughes requested another weather briefing by radio, then taxied into position and took off at 6:07 pm. After takeoff, no further radio contact was made with N7000P. The reported weather at that time was a ceiling of 500 feet visibility of 5 miles temperature of 43 °F gusty and turbulent wind from the east at 20 miles per hour, and cloudy. A short time later, an aviation-qualified witness, about 4 miles west of Camden, heard a low-flying aircraft on a northerly course. The engine noise increased and seconds later a white light appeared from the overcast, descending in a 45° angle.

At 6:29 pm, the aircraft crashed into a wooded, swampy area 1 mile north of U.S. Route 70 and 5 miles west of Camden. The aircraft was destroyed on impact and all four occupants were killed. The witness described hearing a dull-sounding crash, followed by complete silence.

The owner and pilot of the aircraft, Ramsey (Randy) Doris Hughes, 34, were also Patsy Cline's manager and the son-in-law of Cowboy Copas. Hughes held a valid private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating, but was not rated to fly under instrument flight rules. Hughes had taken possession of the airplane in 1962, less than a year before the crash, and was an inexperienced pilot with a total flight time of 160.2 hours, including 44:25 logged in the Piper Comanche.

After the witness notified the Tennessee Highway Patrol, two law enforcement officers performed a preliminary search of the area around 7 pm, but they found nothing. By 11:30 pm, a search party was organized consisting of the Highway Patrol, Civil Defense, and local officers who searched the area throughout the night. At 6:10 am on March 6, the wreckage was discovered. A three-foot hole indicated the area of initial impact, and debris was scattered over an area 166 feet long and 130 feet wide.

During the FAA investigation, the aircraft's propeller was found to have contacted a tree 30 feet above the ground while the aircraft was in a 26° nose-down attitude. The right wing then collided with another tree 32 feet to the right, causing the airplane to become inverted. The downward angle increased to 45° and the Comanche hit the ground at an estimated speed of 175 miles per hour about 62 feet from the initial contact.

Inspection of the airframe and engine disclosed that the aircraft was intact and the engine was developing substantial power before impacting the trees. Investigators found no evidence of engine or system failure or malfunction of the aircraft prior to the crash. The airplane was determined to be slightly over maximum gross weight when it departed Dyersburg airport, but this fact had no bearing on the crash. An autopsy of the pilot discovered no physical or medical concerns that could have been a factor in the accident.

Investigators believe that Hughes entered an area of deteriorating weather with low visibility and lost his visual reference with the ground. This induced spatial disorientation, and eventually led to a graveyard spiral with the aircraft entering into a right-hand diving turn, with a nose-down attitude of 25°. When the aircraft cleared the clouds, Hughes attempted to arrest the high descent rate by pulling the nose up and applying full power, but it was too late. The FAA investigators later found evidence that the propeller was at maximum speed during impact.

The FAA's final conclusion was the non-instrument-rated pilot attempted visual flight in adverse weather conditions, resulting in disorientation and subsequent loss of control.

Address: 2082 Mt. Carmel Rd., Camden, TN 38320

Phone: 731-584-8395

Hauntings: People who have visited the crash site state that the quiet trees that surround the boulder that marks the place is deceiving, for most leave with an uneasy sense of something unnatural. Adjectives used to describe the area include: strange, odd and chilling.

One woman who took her dog with her down the steep path that leads to the ravine noted that her pet began to whine and would not go near the boulder.

The Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium, known as the “Muni” is another place where witnesses state they have encountered Cline’s ghost. She performed here on several occasions.

Her apparition has been seen and heard moving backstage between the dressing rooms and the corridor. Witnesses state they have heard her voice as if she is warming up for a performance.

Patsy always gave her friends the impression that her rule as one of the queens of country music was not going to be long. Prior to her death in a private airplane crash on her way back to Nashville, Patsy had made the ominous remark that she had nearly died in two previous crashes and that the third would be her last. Some thought she meant that would snap her unlucky streak. Others believed Patsy meant she was going to die.

The GRS investigated the Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Cowboy Copas and Randy Hughes crash site on July 11, 2021 and the team included: Mike Rosario and Dale Kaczmarek

Equipment setup: Hand-held equipment was used such as digital recorders and camcorders, K-II Meter, Phasma Box, cell phone for Live Facebook session.

Experiments performed: a single EVP session using the Phasma Box was conducted near the large boulder that marks the spot where the plane went down and is now a memorial for those who lost their lives due to the crash.

We also employed some trigger music; playing the best-known hit songs from each of those who died here, trying to illicit a response of some kind.

Personal experiences:

Mike Rosario: Equipment and Initial Investigation: Our investigation at this crash site located in Camden, Tennessee, took off at approximately 10:16am with Dale Kaczmarek and myself. Weather was still warm in the morning and a bit humid outside. A light shower passed earlier that morning. Equipment used was my K-II Meter; a Philips VoiceTracer Digital Voice Recorder; a DVC 4K Ultra HD 48mp Night Shot Digital Video Camcorder; and an Apple iPhone 8-Plus 256GB Smartphone for exterior HD pictures and videos.

For this investigation, I was accompanied by Dale, and we pretty much stuck together as one group for this investigation. Such an amazing and very beautiful location at that, and definitely accessible, but ‘twas a hike getting to and from the crash site. I began by doing my usual K-II sweeps in and around the crash site area afterwards. My base reading was a steady 2.8-3.4mG). It was quiet and calm outside with very little disturbances with no passersby. Afterwards, I began taking some pictures and videos in hopes of capturing some good visual and audio evidence whilst we were there. During the investigation, I decided to turn on some music associated with these very fine country music artists that perished in this horrible accident nearly sixty years ago as a trigger object for stirring up communication.

The two of us stayed for about 1.5 hours, and had asked some questions about the land in general, the flight plan and scheduling, country music trivia, and who was with us in spirit form whilst we were there. We even did a Phasma Box session there as well.

Evidence: Upon reviewing all of my evidence, although there was no visual evidence, I did have some audio evidence associated with the crash site area. This evidence is as follows:

“I’m running into…”

“Have fun.”

“Eastward.” ~ Which actually has been confirmed with the actual flight plan: Originally north at Fairfax Municipal Airport in Kansas City, Kansas; then south towards Rogers Executive Airport in Benton County, Arkansas; then their destination Eastward to Dyersburg, Tennessee, and then into the Cornelia Fort Air Park in Nashville, Tennessee on final. Interestingly enough, Cornelia Fort Air Park was named after Nashville’s first woman aviators as a flying instructor volunteer in the Second World War. Sadly, she died in a plane crash over Texas in a basic flying trainer aircraft. She was the first female pilot to die on war duty in American history.

Dale Kaczmarek: I was in awe of the beauty and shear quiet of this location. The memorial and crash site was located at the bottom of a pretty steep hill and one had to zig-zag down a paved walkway to reach the site. A small parking lot was located at the top of the hill for visitors.

We were very respectful as we always are whenever attempting communication with those who have crossed over to the other side or are still clinging to the location where they left this world.

There were some hits on the K-II Meter which I found to be very interesting as we were in the middle of a forested area and far away from anything electrical. I could not explain the meter’s reactions as most are only sensitive to fields within 18”.

During the Phasma Box session, the device suddenly blurted out something that pretty much sounds like, “And he’s running into.” That is amazing because Randy Hughes was piloting the aircraft and it did run into several trees before imbedding itself into the ground. Immediately after hearing that phrase I got goosebumps and just felt that someone was around us.

Evidence collected:

And he’s running into pcline.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session, the device announced in a female voice, “And he’s running into…” (The he, again, could reference the pilot Randy Hughes. There was also mention of “trees” during the same Phasma Box session.)

Eastward pcline.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session, a question was asked, “Where were you going that day?” The device responded with, “Eastward.” (That is significant because that was the last known direction the plane was headed before it crashed.)

Have fun pcline.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session, the device said, “Have fun.”

I’m cold and it’s raining pcline.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session, the device blurted out, “I’m cold and it’s raining.” (Approximate weather conditions at the time of the crash were: temperature around 43° with gusty and turbulent winds from the east at 20MPH and cloudy with possible rain. It’s uncanny to think that some might have initially survived the crash for a short while and were freezing in the cold and rain!)

Conclusions: Some of the direct responses and collective phrases produced by the Phasma Box during that 13 minute session were simply amazing and bone-chilling at the same time. They seem to paint a picture of the tragic event that occurred here back in March of 1963. Some of the voices were indeed female while others possibly indicate that some might have momentarily survived the crash which didn’t seem to be indicated by the crash response team.

Even that many years ago, I believe that there may be some residual activity surrounding the crash site with perhaps still some intelligence as well.