Randy Rhoads Crash Site — Leesburg, Florida

On 19 March 1982, guitarist Randy Rhoads died in a plane crash near Leesburg, Florida, while on tour with Ozzy Osbourne. The Ozzy Osbourne tour bus had stopped at Flying Baron Estates, a private airstrip near Lake Sheraton, where tour manager Andrew Aycock — who held a pilot's licence but was not authorised to carry passengers — began making unauthorised pleasure flights in a Beechcraft Bonanza owned by the airstrip. On his second or third pass over the bus, the aircraft clipped the vehicle and crashed into a nearby house, killing Rhoads, hairdresser Rachel Youngblood, and Aycock. Rhoads was 25 years old.

Randy Rhoads had emerged as Ozzy Osbourne's lead guitarist after Osbourne's departure from Black Sabbath in 1979, and in just two studio albums — Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman — had established himself as one of the most technically accomplished and melodically inventive guitarists in hard rock. His classical guitar training was evident in his approach to lead playing; he combined the aggression of heavy metal with a formal elegance and melodic sophistication that set him apart from his contemporaries. The circumstances of his death — killed by an unauthorised joyride — were considered particularly tragic given the trajectory his career had been on.

Rhoads is buried at San Bernardino Valley Memorial Park in Bluecut, California. The airstrip area near Leesburg is a private property and not generally accessible. Fans occasionally visit the general area to pay respects. A memorial to Rhoads in Bluecut is the primary pilgrimage destination. Osbourne has consistently honoured Rhoads's memory throughout his subsequent career.