Today marks the fiftieth anniversay of the deaths, in a light aeroplane accident, of Ritchie Valens, J.P. Richardson (aka the Big Bopper), and Buddy Holly.
At approximately 1:00 AM Central Time on February 3, the plane took off from Mason City Municipal Airport. Around 1:05, Jerry Dwyer, the owner of Dwyer Flying Service, could see the lights of the plane start to descend from the sky to the ground. At the time, he thought it was an optical illusion because of the curvature of the Earth and the horizon.
The pilot, Roger Peterson, was expected to file his flight plan once the plane was airborne, but Peterson never called the tower. Repeated attempts by Dwyer to contact his pilot failed. By 3:30 AM, when the airport at Fargo had not heard from Peterson, Dwyer contacted authorities and reported the aircraft missing.
Around 9:15 in the morning, Dwyer took off in another small plane to fly Peterson’s intended route. A short time later Dwyer spotted the wreckage in a cornfield belonging to Albert Juhl, about 5 miles northwest of the airport. The manager of the Surf Ballroom, who drove the performers to the airport and witnessed the plane taking off, made the positive identification of the performers.
The Bonanza was at a slight downward angle and banked to the right when it struck the ground at around 170 miles per hour (270 km/h). The plane tumbled and skidded another 570 feet (170 m) across the frozen landscape before the crumpled ball of wreckage piled against a wire fence at the edge of the property. The bodies of Holly and Valens lay near the plane, Richardson was thrown into a neighboring cornfield, and Peterson remained trapped inside. All four had died instantly.
So pour one out for Ritchie Valens (13 May 1941-3 February 1959), J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson (24 October 1930-3 February 1959), and Charles “Buddy” Holly (7 September 1936-3 February 1959) for today was the day that the music died.
I can still remember how their music used to make me smile.
Written by Phil
Topics: Culture