The Holly crash...

below are the last three parts of the series I did a couple of years ago
on the death of Buddy Holly and his 3 fellow travelers..... if you
scroll down below it, you will see the first parts published here
yesterday. It's hard to believe that it was 60 years ago... I remember
it very well, and the shock that everyone felt the day that it happened.

The crash site….

Unfortunately the Beechcraft with Buddy Holly and three others had not gone far.

In less than five minutes and traveling under six miles, the aircraft impacted the terrain

at high speed, descending into a steep bank, hitting the right tip of the wing and leaving

a trail of debris 450 feet long, the remainder of the fuselage rolling into a ball and stopping

at a fence line. Here was an eerie scene for those who arrived the next morning. Four young men with great potential lying around a shattered airplane in a field.

There were no witnesses to the crash. Upon exam, the instruments in the plane read as follows: fuel pressure, oil temperature and pressure gauges were stuck in the green or normal range.

The attitude gyro indicator was stopped in a reading indicating a 90 degree angle.

Also, the rate of climb indicator was stopped at 3,000 feet per minute descent.

The airspeed indicator was stopped showing between 165-170 mph. (At this speed

and rate of descent from 800 feet…it would only take about 15 seconds to impact)

The seat belts had all suffered failures either in their attachment points or buckles.

The violent force of the crash itself resulted in Holly, Richardson and Valens all being

thrown from the aircraft. The bodies of Holly and Valens were within twenty feet of the

fuselage, Richardson’s body was thrown across the fence line some forty feet and onto the

property of Oscar Moffitt. The pilot Peterson’s body was trapped in the cockpit. The deceased were all covered in light snow which had accumulated overnight. The aircraft did

 not catch fire,(with 39 gallons of fuel supposedly on board, it’s kind of unusual that

there was no fire, or even mention of any fuel residue being noticed at the site during

the investigation) the landing gear was retracted at the time of the crash. The propeller hub gave evidence that the engine was under power when hitting the ground. County coroner Ralph Smiley certified that all victims died instantly, cause of death ‘gross trauma to brain’ for the

three recording artists and brain damage for pilot Peterson. The bodies were removed

from the site that morning. The only autopsy performed was that on the pilot

Peterson. Only macroscopic physical exams noting injuries to substantiate cause of death were

performed on Holly, Richardson and Valens. 

The investigation:

Before the NTSB, there was the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).  They were the official

agency in charge of investigating the who, what and why of the Holly plane crash.

The post crash investigation at the scene came to no immediate conclusions. The

instrumentation all appeared normal with gauges and readings in their acceptable

parameters.  The engine gave no clues to mechanical failure or loss of power, the

propeller hub upon inspection proved the engine was performing normally at the

point of impact.

There was no part of parts of the wing, or movable control surfaces

 found far away from the aircraft that might indicate an early departure from the fuselage  before the crash. Upon reviewing the autopsy report of pilot Roger Peterson, nothing remarkable was found that would indicate a medical emergency that would affect his flying senses or motor functions.

His injuries as the other victims were of mass trauma including the head and brain.

The young pilot Peterson was certified to operate under visual flight rules; i.e.

you need to be able to SEE where you are going. On that particular night, the lack of

a good horizon, low clouds, minimal amount of ground lights in the little populated area

would all make for poor visual flying.  To my knowledge the CAB never attempted

 to calculate the final weight of the aircraft with its’ passengers,

fuel and luggage.. if the aircraft was overloaded and the center of gravity was

compromised the plane would be severely challenged to fly correctly.

The CAB in Sept. of 1959 said the following about the crash, quote:

‘At night, with an overcast sky, snow falling, no definite horizon and a proposed

flight over a sparsely settled area with an absence of ground lights, a requirement

for control of the aircraft solely by reference to flight instruments can be

predicted with virtual certainty. The board concludes that Pilot Peterson was

confronted with this situation. Because of fluctuation of the rate instruments

caused by gusty winds he would have been forced to concentrate and rely

greatly on the attitude gyro, an instrument with which he was not completely

familiar. The pitch display of this instrument is the reverse of the instrument

he was accustomed to; therefore, he could have been confused and thought

that he was making a climbing turn when in reality he was making a

descending turn. The weather briefing supplied to the pilot was seriously

inadequate in that it failed to even mention adverse flying conditions which

should have been highlighted.’

 In 2015, the NTSB, who succeeded the CAB had considered re-opening the crash investigation. That was proposed by a pilot L.J. Coon, who felt the first conclusions were not correct.

He thought a possible right rudder failure, fuel readings and that improper weight

distribution as mentioned above could be involved. Coon also thought that Peterson

may have tried to land the aircraft, a distinct possibility, and that his efforts should

be noted in the official record. The NTSB in 2016 considered re-opening the

investigation into the crash, but it never happened. And there you have it.

 There are rumors the plane still exists…..and that the Dwyer family has at

least part of it hidden away. (Jerry and Barb Dwyer, were the owners of the airplane.)

Jerry Dwyer passed away in Clear Lake in January 2016. He was writing a book

about the whole affair…his wife has stated she will continue and eventually

finish the book in his memory and honor.

The pistol and the exhumation….

A few weeks after the Buddy Holly plane crash, farmer Albert Juhl was plowing the field

where the crash had occurred.  Holly owned a 22 caliber handgun and had placed it in the

bottom compartment of his overnight bag. During the crash, the bag had been thrown out

and had been torn open, dislodging the gun in the snow. It remained there and was found

the day farmer Juhl was plowing. Juhl took the gun and turned it into the local sheriff, but

not before firing the weapon himself. (There is difference of opinion on whether or not he

shared that ‘firing’ information with the sheriff.)( Holly’s iconic black glasses were also

not found until much later in a snow bank.)  

After testing, it had been determined that the gun had been recently fired…. giving all

kinds of speculation that something might have happened on board that flight involving

the pistol. The facts finally surfaced, but not before planting a seed of inquiry into the mind

of Jay Richardson, only son of J.P. Richardson the Big Bopper.

It’s summer 2007, the Big Bopper’s son Jay Richardson wanted to have his father exhumed.

He had never seen his father, J.P. had died three months before Jay’s birth. There were

unanswered questions…how severe were his father’s injuries? On a long shot, was that pistol

involved in some way, shape or manner?  His father’s body was found the farthest from

the airplane wreckage… had he survived the crash and tried to go for help?  And so

Jay employed Dr. Bill Bass a credentialed forensic anthropologist to examine his father

upon his exhumation. The grave was at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Beaumont, Tx.

There were a few people present at the exhumation including a film crew. The grave was

opened, the vault was raised, opened and the metal Batesville Casket removed. It was

in extremely good shape for being interred 48 years. In a private setting later that morning

the casket was opened and Jay saw his father for the first time. By all accounts the

Big Bopper was fully recognizable with his familiar crew- cut he sported in 1959. The

embalming had been superb, and the restorative art to his features also done well.

Dr. Bass and his assistants removed the body, performed an extensive examination and

multiple groupings of x-rays. Dr. Bass concluded and reported to Jay that there was

no foul play in the death of his father and that he had died from massive trauma, and

that he died instantly. (Dr. Bass noted that Richardson had more than 60 bone

fractures resulting from the accident.)  Batesville Casket Co. provided a new casket in

which J.P. was placed and a small procession drove him to his new resting place. The rumors

were nixed, Jay had seen his father for the first and only time, and had laid his father

back to rest. Sadly, Jay himself passed away in August of 2013.  

So the rumor that the pistol was somehow involved in the crash was finally

dismissed.  Jay Richardson finally got to see his father for the first time….it

must have been a  very bittersweet day for him, for sure. 

So what really happened that terrible morning?

I’m not an investigator by any means, but I actually think that within minutes

of taking off… Holly in the front seat…finding themselves in swirling, blinding

snow urged, or more forcefully, told Peterson the pilot to turn around and get

back to the airport a few short miles away. At the time of the crash, the

landing gear was not deployed, so the chance of him trying to land the aircraft

is quite remote. The engine was at normal cruise speed at the time of the

crash. Peterson may have been trying to gain altitude in an effort

to get above the weather he was confronting, but in actuality was making a

descending move not an ascending one.  I think Peterson, not instrument

rated, was very confused, spatially  disorientated, and lost control.

February 3^rd of 1959 is talked and written about a lot…even 60 years later.

The lack of sophisticated weather tracking, communications and equipment

were most likely also factors in that terrible day. Accidents similar to this are

rare today. The four lost that day will not be forgotten. Their memories will

be perpetuated as time marches on…and that’s the way it should be.