Randy Rhoads died prematurely and tragically at the age of 25 in a plane crash. Before the trip, the guitarist was convinced by his colleague Don Airey , Ozzy Osbourne at the time.
According to producer Max Norman , who was responsible for the Prince of Darkness's first three solo albums, the guitarist was very afraid of flying. Therefore, when he received news of the musician's death, Norman was surprised that Rhoads was on a plane that night.
“[Randy] hated flying. Years later, I found out that (…) it was the keyboardist Don who persuaded him to go,” he told The Metal Voice [via Ultimate Guitar]. “And I found out that Don was in therapy for years because of it, I feel sorry for him.”
On the day of the accident, during a tour stop, the musicians were invited by driver Andrew Aycock to go for a ride in a plane for pure fun. After landing safely, Airey likely encouraged his friend to join in the fun. When the accident occurred, the keyboardist witnessed everything. “I never understood why he did that, so I can understand why Don was so shaken and felt so guilty for having persuaded him,” lamented Norman.
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