Stevie Ray Vaughan's mother and brother sued the helicopter company; his fiancée was left out of the estate, and thieves later took his belongings from Jimmie's storage unit

After an Alpine Valley concert with Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan took the last seat on the third of four Omniflight helicopters. His brother, Jimmie, was meant to fly. The Bell 206B left in fog at 1 a.m. and hit a ski slope about 0.6 miles from takeoff, killing all five aboard. The NTSB found the pilot, Jeff Brown, was instrument-rated on airplanes but not helicopters. He had recently failed an instrument check ride. In 1992 his mother, Martha Vaughan, and Jimmie sued Omniflight for negligence, alleging the pilot flew under visual rules in instrument conditions. The case settled in 1995 for an undisclosed amount. The widows of Clapton's bodyguard and assistant tour manager received more than $2 million. Sony signed a deal with the Vaughan estate for his back catalog and unreleased recordings. Vintage Guitar called the estate's exclusion of his fiancée, Janna Lapidus, the most controversial aspect after his death; she had been with him from 1986. In spring 2007 Jimmie's Central Texas storage unit was broken into twice. Two men charged with the theft by Austin police consigned Stevie's handwritten lyrics and clothes to Heritage Auction Galleries in Dallas, signing that they held clear title. Heritage froze the lot and Dallas police seized it. Martha Vaughan died in 2009. In 2026 the estate is controlled by the Vaughan family^†.