I was in the USAF, stationed at Coleman AAF in Sandhofen, Germany, providing weather support for Army aviation. This was devastating news to me as Lynyrd Skynyrd was/still is one of my favorite bands. I had just bought their album, "Street Survivors", and still have it, with the album cover being eerily prophetic:
Legend has it Ronnie Van Zant was buried in the same Neil Young concert t-shirt he’s wearing in that album cover photo.