How did Stevie Ray Vaughan die?

Stevie Ray Vaughan died in a helicopter crash on August 27, 1990.

Vaughan had just performed with Double Trouble at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin, as part of a concert featuring Eric Clapton. After the show, he boarded a Bell 206B JetRanger bound for Chicago with three members of Clapton’s touring entourage.

The helicopter departed in dense fog and crashed into a nearby ski slope shortly after takeoff. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the pilot failed to gain enough altitude to clear rising terrain. No drugs or alcohol were found in Vaughan’s system, and investigators found no mechanical failure.

Vaughan was 35 years old. His death stunned the blues world, but his influence continued through posthumous releases and his 2015 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Double Trouble.