The Life of Beloved Star Ricky Nelson and His Tragic Demise

Investigators determined that the disaster began with a fire inside the passenger cabin while the DC-3 was cruising toward Dallas. The crew had repeatedly struggled to get the gasoline-powered cabin heater working, and the fire later started in the rear section of the plane, close to where that heater was located.

Smoke became so thick that the pilots could barely see while attempting an emergency landing. The plane struck wires, a utility pole, and then trees. The NTSB could never determine exactly what ignited the fire, but the evidence placed its origin near the troubled heater, leaving one sensational early theory unsupported.