Remembering Singer Songwriter John Denver on the 15th Anniversary of His Passing [VIDEO]

October 12th was the 15th anniversary of singer-songwriter John Denver's passing. Denver, was much like his father, he had a real love for flying. The 'Rocky Mountain High' singer crashed his experimental plane into Northern California's Monterey Bay. John was 53 years old when he died while making a series of touch-and-go landings at the nearby Monterey Peninsula Airport off the coast of California. Legally, John Denver was not supposed to be flying because of a previous DUI incident.

John Denver, aka Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., was a chip off the old block, because his father Lt. Col. Henry John Deutschendorf, Sr., was an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel who set air plane speed records in the B-58 Hustler bomber and earned a place in the National Air Force Hall of Fame. So it's no wonder Denver was test flying his very own  experimental airplane he had just purchased. The reason the Rocky Mountain Country Boy was not legally flying was because  a year before the accident, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had sited Denver for failure to abstain from alcohol consumption after his drunk driving arrests, and had previously revoked his certifications. Since Denver was required by the FAA to have at least a third-class medical certification in order to exercise the privileges of his pilot certificate, he was not legally able to fly at the time of the accident. An autopsy revealed there was no trace of alcohol or drugs in Denver's body at the time of death.

Still, John Denver loved to fly, loved nature and he loved to sing. I was and still am a big John Denver fan, I feel as if he was taken away too soon. What else would John Denver have given us? What would Denver say about our current efforts to being more earth friendly? We will never know, all we have is his music and memories. Like this it was one of his last public appearances.
John Denver sings at the Mardy Murie Film Festival