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Elvis Presley was flying between gigs when his plane had an electrical problem. He was completely convinced he was about to die.

Published on January 13, 2024

While Elvis Presley owned a fleet of private planes in his lifetime, he once swore off flying. In the 1950s, the musician had such a frightening experience on a plane that his mother told him never to fly again. When Elvis’ plane lost all its power, he firmly believed he was going to die in the middle of the flight.

Elvis Presley thought he was going to die on a plane trip

In the 1950s, Elvis took a small plane to travel on tour. While he was in the air, the plane began having electrical problems.

“A year earlier he had the scare of his life. He was traveling over the Ozarks in a small plane going from one gig to the next, and the way he told it to me suddenly this damn plane just lost all its power,” his bodyguard Red West said in Elvis: What Happened? “The pilot couldn’t do a thing about it. The pilot even was convinced they were going to crash and all get killed. Elvis said he was getting ready to die. He was sure that it was the end.”

The plane made an emergency landing and Elvis walked away unharmed. Still, the incident shook him.

“Luckily, they made a forced landing and nobody got hurt, but it scared Elvis half to death,” West said. “When his mother found out about it, she made him promise never to fly. He wasn’t too keen on flying then.”

Gladys Presley was very protective over her son

After the frightening incident, Elvis’ mother, Gladys, asked him to stop flying. She was incredibly protective over her son. Some believe that her protective nature ultimately led to her death. She worried so much about Elvis’ safety in the military that some believe she made herself sick.

“Elvis believed that his mother had eventually given up on life,” Priscilla Presley wrote in her book Elvis and Me. “Her health had begun to deteriorate when he was drafted. Her love for Vernon and Elvis was so great that she could never face the loss of either of them and often said she wanted to be the first to go.”

The pair were so close in Gladys’ lifetime that Elvis believed they shared a psychic connection. She seemed to be able to tell when he was in danger.

Elvis Presley owned multiple planes in his lifetime 

Elvis’ fear of flying did not last long. He purchased private planes and flew often.

“Of course later he lost that fear and bought himself almost his own air force,” West said. “At one time he had five planes and four pilots.”

Elvis’ most well-known plane is the Lisa Marie, which he purchased in 1975. He named the jet after his daughter and spent over $800,000 remodeling it (via Graceland). Both the Lisa Marie and his smaller plane, the Hound Dog II, are on display at Graceland.

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