WBRZ - Baton Rouge

Roger Peterson, an experienced pilot, did not have an instrument rating when he piloted a plane on the fateful night of February 3, 1959. As noted in a previous column, weather conditions at Mason City, Iowa included: overcast skies, 6,000 foot ceiling, 15 mile visibility, temperature of 16 degrees, south winds at 25 knots - gusts to 32. At 12:40 a.m., with light snow, falling, an advisory from Kansas City warned of "moderate to locally heavy icing below 10,000 feet over most of Iowa." At 1:00 a.m. the single engine Beechcraft Bonanza was airborne, climbing 800 feet and crashing into a field 5 miles north of Mason City. Wreckage was scattered over 540 feet. The crash killed musicians Buddy Holly, "The Big Bopper"- J.P. Richardson and Richie Valens.