MOST OF you youngsters out there have never heard of Buddy Holly. But for us teenagers of the time he was an even bigger star than Taylor Swift is today, and when Buddy and two fellow stars were killed in a plane crash 65 years ago this month the story went round the world. In 1972 it inspired Don McLean to write his song
American Pie -- the day the music died.
Buddy Holly (22), Ritchie Valens (17) and the Big Bopper (28) had been touring America by bus but wanted to reach their next venue in time to do their laundry. They hired an air taxi to fly the 250 miles from Mason City, Iowa, to Fargo, North Dakota. They did not know that their pilot Roger Peterson had a commercial licence but only 50 hours’ instrument training when they took off at 1am into a 3000ft cloud base with light snow and winds gusting 20-35 knots.
The result was inevitable, and five miles from the airport their Beech V-tail Bonanza dived into the ground at an estimated 170 mph. All died instantly as their bodies were thrown clear and the Beech disintegrated.
Clearing out the loft one day I found a Buddy Holly 45rpm record which inspired a search for the accident report. I was shocked that anyone should attempt a light aircraft flight in such conditions but even worse was to come.
The Bonanza was fitted with a Sperry G3 attitude gyro which displayed the sky in its lower half and the ground in its upper half -- the direct opposite of all artificial horizons to this day. Why this should be I have no idea, perhaps someone can explain it?
An added complication is the level adjustment knob which moves the little plane up and down, presumably to follow current trim attitudes. Of course after changing attitude and re-trimming if you forget to return the little plane to the correct level ... I encountered a few of these AH in the 1960s but was warned to level the datum plane before takeoff and leave it alone thereafter.
The FAA report concluded that the accident was due to an inexperienced pilot undertaking flight in weather beyond his capabilities. “
Since Roger Peterson had received his instrument training in aircraft equipped with the conventional type artificial horizon, and since this instrument and the Sperry attitude gyro are opposite in their pictorial display of the pitch attitude, it is probable that the reverse sensing would at times produce reverse control action. . . therefore, he could have become confused and thought that he was making a climbing turn when in reality he was making a descending turn.
“The probable cause of this accident was the pilot’s unwise decision to embark on a flight which would necessitate flying solely by instruments when he was not properly certificated or qualified to do so. Contributing factors were serious deficiencies in the weather briefing, and the pilot’s unfamiliarity with the instrument which determines the attitude of the aircraft.”
The sad story is repeated every year as pilots bite off more than they can handle. But for me the victims still live on as happy memories of my youth. Off we go then ... have a listen