John Denver died on October 12, 1997, in a plane crash near Monterey Bay, California. He was piloting a light homebuilt aircraft, a Rutan Long-EZ, which crashed into the ocean after he lost control of the plane. The official cause of death was multiple blunt force trauma from the crash

. Denver was an experienced pilot with over 2,700 hours of flying time but was not legally permitted to fly at the time because his medical certification had been revoked due to prior alcohol-related offenses. However, toxicology reports found no alcohol or drugs in his system at the time of the crash

. The crash was attributed to a design flaw in the experimental aircraft's fuel selector valve, which was poorly placed behind Denver's shoulder, making it difficult to reach during flight. This likely distracted him and contributed to the crash. Additionally, Denver had not refueled the main tank before flying, requiring him to switch tanks mid-flight-a maneuver complicated by the valve's placement. Witnesses saw the plane enter a steep nosedive before hitting the water, and the crash was instantaneous

. In summary, John Denver died in a tragic aviation accident caused by loss of control of his experimental aircraft, compounded by a problematic fuel selector design and operational challenges during the flight