1990 Daniel Johnston plane crash

1990 aircraft incident in Arkansas, U.S. July 2026 July 2026 1990 Daniel Johnston plane crash Accident 1990 03 17Aviation Investigation Final Report: Fordyce, Arkansas (MKC90LA066) National Transportation Safety Board MKC90LA066 https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/34943/pdf PDF May 30, 2026 Forced landing following ignition shutdown by passenger during psychotic episode Wooded area near Fordyce, Arkansas, United States Beech A23 Musketeer N3520R Abilene, Texas, United States Holly Springs, North Carolina, United States 2 1 1 0 2 2 On March 17, 1990, American musician Daniel Johnston, while experiencing a psychotic episode, caused a two-seater private aircraft owned by his father, Bill Johnston—a former World War II pilot—to crash near Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. Daniel was being flown home from Austin, Texas, following performances at the Austin Music Awards and the South by Southwest festival. Mid-flight, Daniel removed the plane's ignition key and threw it out the window. The aircraft entered a tailspin, and the two men struggled for the controls until Bill was able to level out the plane's path and crash-land in a wooded area. The plane was destroyed, but Bill and Daniel survived with minor injuries. Daniel suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and had, unbeknownst to his father, stopped taking his prescribed medication. Following the crash, he was involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital in West Virginia, and his father took charge of his medication. The crash is recounted in the 2005 documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston, directed by Jeff Feuerzeig. Background Daniel Johnston was an American musician and visual artist who grew up in New Cumberland, West Virginia, and began self-releasing homemade cassette tape albums while living with his family.Watson Eddie Johnston, Daniel Dale https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/johnston-daniel-dale Handbook of Texas Online Texas State Historical Association August 11, 2021 May 27, 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20250712110028/https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/johnston-daniel-dale July 12, 2025 live After relocating to Austin, Texas, in the early 1980s, Johnston gained popularity in Austin's underground music scene and earned national attention following a 1985 appearance on the MTV program The Cutting Edge; however, he began exhibiting symptoms of mental illness, and was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.Sweeting Adam Adam Sweeting Daniel Johnston obituary The Guardian September 12, 2019 https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/sep/12/daniel-johnston-obituary May 27, 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20241007211837/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/sep/12/daniel-johnston-obituary October 7, 2024 liveSisario Ben Ben Sisario Daniel Johnston Dies; Gifted and Enigmatic Songwriter Was 58 The New York Times September 11, 2019 https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/11/arts/music/daniel-johnston-dead.html May 27, 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20250624213512/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/11/arts/music/daniel-johnston-dead.html June 24, 2025 live subscription Throughout the late 1980s, Johnston was repeatedly committed to psychiatric hospitals following psychotic episodes.Phantom of My Own Opera: SPIN's 1989 Daniel Johnston Profile Spin September 11, 2019 March 1989 https://www.spin.com/2019/09/daniel-johnston-interview-spin-1989/ May 27, 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20260527234332/https://www.spinmagazine.com/2019/09/daniel-johnston-interview-spin-1989/ May 27, 2026 live This included attacking and hospitalizing his then-manager Randy Kemper with a lead pipe, believing Kemper was possessed by the devil;Hall Michael Michael Hall (Texas musician) He's Daniel Johnston, and He Was Gonna Be Famous Texas Monthly February 2005 https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/hes-daniel-johnston-and-he-was-gonna-be-famous/ subscription May 27, 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20251221124622/https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/hes-daniel-johnston-and-he-was-gonna-be-famous/ December 21, 2025 live being found by police singing hymns in a creek near the University of Texas at Austin after taking LSD, leading to his commitment at the Austin State Hospital; and forcing his way into an elderly woman's apartment to perform an exorcism, causing her to jump from a second-story window and break several bones, prompting Johnston's court-ordered commitment.Brady Tara RIP Daniel Johnston: Revisiting his classic interview with Hot Press Hot Press September 12, 2019 https://www.hotpress.com/music/rip-daniel-johnston-revisiting-classic-interview-hot-press-22789103 May 27, 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20260404050629/https://www.hotpress.com/music/rip-daniel-johnston-revisiting-classic-interview-hot-press-22789103 April 4, 2026 live Bill Johnston, Daniel's father and a former World War II pilot, had previously flown his son back from Austin to West Virginia after Daniel's release from Austin State Hospital. Daniel returned to Austin in March 1990 to perform at the Austin Music Awards and the South by Southwest festival, with Bill flying him there in his plane.The 1990 Austin Music Awards featuring performances from Daniel Johnston, Townes Van Zandt, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and more KUTX March 10, 2025 https://kutx.org/this-week-in-texas-music-history/the-1990-austin-music-awards-featuring-performances-from-daniel-johnston-townes-van-zandt-stevie-ray-vaughan-and-more/ May 27, 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20251116113007/https://kutx.org/this-week-in-texas-music-history/the-1990-austin-music-awards-featuring-performances-from-daniel-johnston-townes-van-zandt-stevie-ray-vaughan-and-more/ November 16, 2025 live Unbeknownst to Bill, Daniel had once again stopped taking the medication prescribed for his bipolar disorder, having previously done so during an April 1988 trip to New York City. Crash Following Daniel's performances in Austin, he and Bill departed in the two-seater plane, a Beech A23 Musketeer with registration N3520R, for their return to West Virginia. South of Little Rock, Arkansas, at an altitude of approximately 6,500 feet, Daniel told his father he was going to be sick and reached over to turn off the engine; Bill turned the key back on. Daniel then threw a soda can out the window and demanded that Bill land on a nearby lake, with Bill responding that the plane could not land on water. Daniel, who had been reading a comic depicting Casper the Friendly Ghost and Spooky in parachutes, believed he himself was Casper, and yelled "Let's bail out!" before turning off the ignition a second time and throwing the keys out the window.Daniel Johnston, singer and songwriter who overcame schizophrenia and bipolar disorder to craft a unique and compelling body of work – obituary The Daily Telegraph October 29, 2019 29 0307-1235 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2019/10/29/daniel-johnston-singer-songwriter-overcame-schizophrenia-bipolar/ subscription May 27, 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20250622002850/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2019/10/29/daniel-johnston-singer-songwriter-overcame-schizophrenia-bipolar/ June 22, 2025 live With the engine now dead, Daniel grabbed the controls, as he and Bill wrestled for them while the plane entered a tailspin.Boyd Brian Crash landing The Irish Times April 14, 2006 https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/crash-landing-1.1038523 subscription May 27, 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20250822221602/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/crash-landing-1.1038523 August 22, 2025 live Bill called out, "You'll kill us!" and Daniel replied, "I can't die!" At the last moment, Daniel released the controls, allowing Bill to level out above the trees and aim for a clearing. The aircraft came up about 100 yards short, crashing into the treetops, where it lodged roughly 60 feet above the ground before falling straight down. Both men survived with only minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed in the crash.O'Hagan Sean Sean O'Hagan (journalist) At war with his demons ... and Metallica The Observer April 2, 2006 https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/apr/02/metallica The Guardian May 27, 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20230605141731/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/apr/02/metallica June 5, 2023 live After they climbed out of the wreckage, a farmer ran up to help them; Daniel threatened him, prompting Bill to say, "Leave him alone. He's out of his mind." Walking out of the forest, the pair passed a rural church whose billboard read, "God promises a safe landing, but not a calm voyage." Convinced that he had saved his father from Satan, Daniel took their survival as proof that God was winning a battle with Satan over his soul. Aftermath and legacy thumb|right|Daniel Johnston with his father Bill, the pilot of the aircraft, in 2005 Following the crash, Johnston was involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital in West Virginia.Schube Will The man who discovered Daniel Johnston The Fader September 16, 2019 https://www.thefader.com/2019/09/16/the-man-who-discovered-daniel-johnston May 27, 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20251205141553/https://www.thefader.com/2019/09/16/the-man-who-discovered-daniel-johnston December 5, 2025 liveTroubled songwriter won cult following by making an art out of his inner turmoil Taranaki Daily News The Southland Times September 20, 2019 25 0112-9910 https://www.pressreader.com/new-zealand/the-southland-times/20190920/282037623875586 subscription PressReader May 27, 2026 Bill, having discovered that Daniel had stopped taking his medication, took charge of it himself. Daniel's mother, Mabel, recalled that Bill at first resolved they would no longer have Daniel live with them, but later arranged to bring his son home; in 1991 the family moved to Waller, Texas, where Daniel lived when he was not hospitalized. Director Jeff Feuerzeig had been drawn to Daniel after the musician performed a one-hour radio special by telephone around the time of his 1990 hospitalization; Feuerzeig was among those who called in, and he resolved to make a documentary about Daniel afterwards. He later featured the crash as director of the 2005 documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston, in which Bill recounts the events of the crash. References Category:1990 in Arkansas Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1990 Category:Daniel Johnston Category:March 1990 in the United States