The Region - News from Jan. 9, 1986

The wife and son of Andrew Robert Chapin, a member of singer Rick Nelson’s Stone Canyon Band who had expressed fears about flying aboard a DC-3 that crashed near DeKalb, Tex., Dec. 31, filed a wrongful-death suit in Los Angeles Superior Court. Chapin, 33, a keyboard player, died in the crash with Nelson, Nelson’s fiancee and four other band members. A sister-in-law of Chapin said the musician had talked about leaving the band because he was worried about flying on the plane because the aircraft recently had a problem with one of its engines. Named as defendants in the suit are Martin Aviation Inc. and Century Equipment Co., the registered owner of the plane. The Times was unable to reach Century for comment. Martin spokesman Tony Colletti said he had no idea why the firm was named because “we haven’t done anything for that airplane or to that airplane.” The suit by Lisa Jane Chapin and her son, Ian Andrew Chapin, 4, of Panorama City, seeks unspecified general damages.