The Day the Music Died

williepete

Platinum Member
Aug 7, 2011
3,848
1,399
380
Troposphere
Today in music history. A young pilot without an instrument rating late at night in a snow storm.

3 February 1959: “The Day the Music Died”

3 February 1959: In the late 1950s, “rock and roll” music was becoming increasingly popular in America. Buddy Holly (Charles Hardin Holley) was among the most famous rock and roll singers.

While on a concert tour, Holly, formerly of the band The Crickets, chartered a small airplane from Dwyer Flying Service to fly himself and two other performers to Fargo, North Dakota for the following night’s event.

After the performance at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, ended, Holly, Ritchie Valens (Richard Steven Valenzuela) and “The Big Bopper,” (Jiles P. Richardson, Jr.) were driven to the nearby Mason City Municipal Airport (MCW), arriving at 12:40 a.m. (0640 UTC). They were met by their assigned pilot, Roger Arthur Peterson, and boarded the chartered airplane. They took off at 12:55 a.m. (0655 UTC).

3 February 1959: "The Day the Music Died" - This Day in Aviation

0175ccf30190cffe1bb165fdfc8b6b3c5c5d0c70.jpg


 
Today in music history. A young pilot without an instrument rating late at night in a snow storm.

3 February 1959: “The Day the Music Died”

3 February 1959: In the late 1950s, “rock and roll” music was becoming increasingly popular in America. Buddy Holly (Charles Hardin Holley) was among the most famous rock and roll singers.

While on a concert tour, Holly, formerly of the band The Crickets, chartered a small airplane from Dwyer Flying Service to fly himself and two other performers to Fargo, North Dakota for the following night’s event.

After the performance at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, ended, Holly, Ritchie Valens (Richard Steven Valenzuela) and “The Big Bopper,” (Jiles P. Richardson, Jr.) were driven to the nearby Mason City Municipal Airport (MCW), arriving at 12:40 a.m. (0640 UTC). They were met by their assigned pilot, Roger Arthur Peterson, and boarded the chartered airplane. They took off at 12:55 a.m. (0655 UTC).

3 February 1959: "The Day the Music Died" - This Day in Aviation

0175ccf30190cffe1bb165fdfc8b6b3c5c5d0c70.jpg


Buddy Holly to me was greater than Elvis... I know Elvis fans will hate on me for that!
 
  • Thread starter
  • Banned
  • #3
That poor kid flying completely lost control. He must have been severely disoriented.

"N3794N impacted the ground in a 90° right bank with a nose down pitch angle, on a heading of 315°. The right wing broke off and parts of the airplane were scattered as far as 540 feet (165 meters). The three passengers were thrown from the wreckage.

The airspeed indicator needle was stuck between 165 and 170 knots (190–196 miles per hour/306–315 kilometers per hour) and the rate of climb indicator was stuck showing a 3,000 foot-per-minute (15 meters per second) rate of descent. The tachometer was stuck at 2,200 r.p.m."
 
Today in music history. A young pilot without an instrument rating late at night in a snow storm.

3 February 1959: “The Day the Music Died”

3 February 1959: In the late 1950s, “rock and roll” music was becoming increasingly popular in America. Buddy Holly (Charles Hardin Holley) was among the most famous rock and roll singers.

While on a concert tour, Holly, formerly of the band The Crickets, chartered a small airplane from Dwyer Flying Service to fly himself and two other performers to Fargo, North Dakota for the following night’s event.

After the performance at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, ended, Holly, Ritchie Valens (Richard Steven Valenzuela) and “The Big Bopper,” (Jiles P. Richardson, Jr.) were driven to the nearby Mason City Municipal Airport (MCW), arriving at 12:40 a.m. (0640 UTC). They were met by their assigned pilot, Roger Arthur Peterson, and boarded the chartered airplane. They took off at 12:55 a.m. (0655 UTC).

3 February 1959: "The Day the Music Died" - This Day in Aviation

0175ccf30190cffe1bb165fdfc8b6b3c5c5d0c70.jpg


The pilot had alot of flight time even though he hadn't passed his instrument rating. This sounds like the JFK junior crash. A pilot disoriented by darkness in unfavorable weather conditions.

But how a pilot in this situation would not look at and trust his altimeter is beyond me. The pilot should have knowledge of the height of obstructions and mountains on his flight path and the safe thing to do if confused is climb to safe altitude and get someone on the radio. All those type single engine planes had turn-bank indicators so the pilot would know for sure if the wings were level and what altitude he was at.

The only thing I can think of is they panic and lose all cognitive ability.
 
  • Thread starter
  • Banned
  • #5
Very similar to the JFK Jr. accident. This type of accident unfortunately remains common. Inexperienced pilots put themselves in conditions they are not trained for or experienced in.
 

New Topics

Forum List

Back
Top