On 12 October 1997 American singer-songwriter John Denver died at age 53 in a single-fatality crash while piloting a recently purchased light plane. He was a pilot with over 2,700 hours of experience. Post-accident investigation showed that the leading cause of the accident was Denver’s inability to switch fuel tanks during flight. John Denver had four number one hits on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. He recorded and released approximately 300 songs, about 200 of which he composed.