Brazilian country singer Rick Sollo killed with four others in helicopter crash, one of several aviation incidents involving country musicians this year
Why It MattersA fatal helicopter crash followed by a run of aborted takeoffs and equipment failures keeps scrutiny on small-aircraft safety for entertainers and the private operators who fly them.
Rick Sollo, one half of the Brazilian country duo Rick and Renner, was killed in a helicopter crash in Brazil on September 21. Four others aboard also died: businessman Bruno Avelar, video maker Paulo Soares, pilot Antonio Roberto Nobrega de Araujo and co-pilot Leopoldo Barros Teixeiera, according to Globo.
The crash is one of several air-travel tragedies and close calls involving country music figures over the past year. Dwight Yoakam said his aircraft aborted takeoff on Feb. 12 after a mechanical failure warning in the cockpit, while he was preparing to fly to a show in Lubbock, Texas. The aircraft could not be repaired, so the party switched planes and arrived about an hour and a half late. Chris Young reported a brake failure on a plane while flying to Nashville for Father's Day. The Red Clay Strays said part of their jet's engine cowling flew off during takeoff from Mobile for the second near-crash since October 2025, and the plane circled for about two hours to burn fuel before landing.
Songwriter Brett James, 57, was killed in a plane crash in Franklin, North Carolina, last September, along with his wife, Melody Carole, 59, and her daughter, Meryl Wilson, 28. The National Transportation Safety Board report says he approached Macon County Airport at about 6,800 feet and radioed that he intended to perform a 360-degree turn to land. Surveillance video showed the airplane flying over the runway before a descending left turn that tightened into a spiral before it hit the ground. No signs of engine failure were detected.
