Reba McEntire will never forget the fateful March day in 1991 when a plane full of her band and crew members departed from San Diego after a show and never made it home.

That charter jet plane crashed, killing seven members of Reba’s backing band, her tour manager and both pilots onboard. Reba, herself, wasn’t on the plane: she was recovering from a case of bronchitis and elected to leave town the next morning instead.

In the wake of the tragedy, the singer was so devastated, she wasn’t sure what laid ahead for her career. “I didn’t know if I was going to be able to continue,” the singer tells People.

Reba leaned on her faith throughout the tragedy and came to realize that her lost road family members “went on to a better place,” she remembers, adding that she “never blamed God” for the devastating crash, but she does “have questions when I get up there.”

Ultimately, the experience taught her a powerful lesson about gratitude and being present, the singer goes on to say.

“From that I learned that you need to take it one day at a time and be very grateful for the things that you have,” Reba explains. “Tell folks in your life how much you love and appreciate them.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.