On February 2, 1959, an aircraft carrying Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens took off from the Mason City Airport during a snow storm and crashed 4 miles northwest in a corn field.  I am hearing a lot about it lately, as I work at the Mason City Airport, and live just blocks away from the Surf Ballroom where they played what would be their final concert.

That explains the number of Brits that have been coming into here this week.  Buddy Holly was well before my time, but around here it is legend.  Every year they have an annual winter dance like they did then, but this year is the 50th anniversary so its even bigger.  Last night they inducted the Surf Ballroom into the Rock and Roll hall-of-fame, plus rumor has it we can expect some rock celebrities, of the British variety, to make appearances this weeknd

Hagar wrote on Jan 29^th, 2009 at 4:36pm:


One of the possible appearances for this years winter dance.  Another rumor going around is that Jerry Dwyer, who owned the FBO and the aircraft that they chartered, is supposed to be writing a book about that night.  He has always had his own idea of what happened on that flight, legend has it that he still has the aircraft.  I know Jerry personally and have never seen the aircraft, but I do know he doesn't get rid of anything, including many aircraft on our airport that are permanent residents of our ramp.

American Pie

Quote:

Did you write the book of love,
And do you have faith in God above,
If the Bible tells you so?
Do you believe in rock ’n roll,
Can music save your mortal soul,
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Well, I know that you’re in love with him
`cause I saw you dancin’ in the gym.
You both kicked off your shoes.
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues.

I was a lonely teenage broncin’ buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck,
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died.

Well The Crickets have landed so far.  This weekend sounds like it will be a mad rush at the airport.

Sorry, don't have my camera at work today.  I didnt' know who they were until we asked the pilots after they left.  Maybe Monday/Tuesday when everyone is leaving.

beaky wrote on Feb 2^nd, 2009 at 2:55am:

Odd how when someone famous is killed or disappears there's never a simple explanation as with us ordinary folk. The media love these conspiracy theories & the wilder they are the better. What possible reason would anyone in that aircraft have for waving a gun around so soon after take-off?  Perhaps they found a gun in the wreckage. So what? Is not carrying handguns perfectly legal in the US? I don't know about the others but Buddy Holly was from Texas where I believe carrying a gun would be second nature & not even worth mentioning. If this had happened in the UK it might be different.

There was a very interesting tribute on BBC Radio 2 the other night. Lots of memories from family & friends who were there at the time. You can listen to it online from the Crying, Waiting, Hoping link here. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/listen/

DaveSims wrote on Feb 2^nd, 2009 at 8:47am:


No, the new AOPA magazine goes into this crash in detail, and says that the pilot was IFR and commercial, had over 700 hours TT and almost 200 hours in type (a Bonanza V35). But you're right about the Sperry attitude indicator, which is what AOPA attributed as the main cause of the crash.    

As good luck would have it, I was able to visit the crash site on 6 February, 50 years and 3 days after the event. Temperatures and conditions were nearly identical as on that morning, but there was far more snow, evident by the 6 to 7-foot-high walls of snow bordering Gull Avenue, the farm road which flanks the east side of the farmfields once owned by Albert and Delbert Juhl respectively, now both owned by Nicholas Farms. On the morning of the event, there were only 4 inches of snow, whereas several times on the 1/3-mile hike to the shrine I sank in 12 to 15 inches of accumulated snow.

Your trek begins at 315th Street and Gull Avenue and works west on foot. At the start, you are greeted by a very large set of black steel Ray-Bans mounted on concrete pillars and you proceed due west to the shrine. Once there, the main attractions you see are a plasma-cut steel guitar silhouette with the artists' names cut into it as well as 3 steel records with the most popular songs of the artists labelled on them. Others have left mementos behind, some era-specific, some generic or more recent.

When you stand there, consider what happened, even try to trace the path of the plane in the sky and to your feet, it is a sombering experience which takes on a very monumental degree of depth, and you suddenly find yourself wondering if you're standing in an inappropriate spot; After all, within mere feet of you once lay the bodies of the artists, as well as that of the young pilot Roger Peterson, also young and very much newlywed. The hardest part to digest is how this one tragedy was borne of several small misjudgments, inconveniences and overconfidences. All of those seemingly minor details led to the event known the world over as "The Day The Music Died". You can read the crash report, the Holly autopsy report, the coroner's on-site report all you want...being there pushes the experience to the nth degree.

On my departure off the field and near my car, a gentleman approached me, seeking my opinion on something: He claimed he had obtained the propeller from the Bonanza as well as all documentation to it, saying he wanted to encase it in a Plexiglas housing with a hole in front to allow people to 'touch history' and sought my opinion as to what I'd feel about it. Intrigued, I asked the gentleman what he knew about the propeller, and he told me that it was complete, and that one blade was slightly bent and one was curled backwards. I asked him how this was so, since the crash report stated the prop blades were broken off at the hub; He refuted my statement saying he knew he had the propeller from the crash. I diffused the topic, wished him luck and went back to my car, took some more video and pictures, then drove away.

In summary, this is an experience I recommend to anyone and everyone wholeheartedly. A definite "Bucket List" item, for sure.