The details of Montgomery Gentry singer Troy Gentry's tragic helicopter crash have now been made public, as it's revealed that the fatal accident was caused by engine failure. The country artist was due to perform in New Jersey when the vehicle went down last week.

Montgomery Gentry at the ACM AwardsMontgomery Gentry at the ACM Awards

We now know that the 50-year-old had taken the chopper ride purely for pleasure, and there was no necessitation to take the journey as his musical partner Eddie Montgomery was already at the Flying W Airport And Resort in Medford where they were going to play on Friday (September 8th 2017).

According to TMZ, the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) preliminary accident report stated that the pilot 'was unable to control engine RPM with throttle inputs'. The pilot, whose name was James Evan Robinson, had tried to combat the problem by stopping the engine and doing an autorotation, something which had worked in the past, landing on the runway.

However, the RPM is thought to have 'decayed', with the blades slowing down before the aircraft plummeted to the ground. They had reached a height of 950 feet when Robinson was forced to perform the emergency autorotation.

Troy was pronounced dead in hospital, with Robinson's body having taken emergency services several hours to remove from the helicopter wreckage. Troy's Memorial Service takes place today (September 14th) at Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, and will be live streamed online. The star is survived by his wife Angie and two daughters Taylor and Kaylee. 

More: Troy Gentry killed in tragic air accident

The Montgomery Gentry team confirmed the sad news on Twitter. 'It is with great sadness that we confirm that Troy Gentry, half of the popular country duo, Montgomery Gentry, was tragically killed in a helicopter crash which took place at approximately 1:00pm today in Medford, New Jersey', the post read. 'Troy Gentry was 50 years old. Details of the crash are unknown. Troy Gentry's family wishes to acknowledge all of the kind thoughts and prayers, and asks for privacy at this time.'