Buddy Holly Crash Site Investigation

On February 3, 1959, at 12:55am, American rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" J. P. Richardson were killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, together with pilot Roger Peterson. They were in a chartered a 1947 Beech-Craft Bonanza plane, #N3794N. Peterson, not having been informed of worsening weather conditions, decided to fly "on instruments" meaning without visual confirmation of the horizon which led to the crash. Jerry Dwyer managed the airport and owned the plane that crashed. He recently died January 16, 2022 at the age of 85.

Dwyer stood at the Mason City airport that fateful night in 1959 and “actually saw the aircraft going down,” he said in 2009. “I could see my little taillight — which is about the size of the tip of your little finger — I saw that little white taillight going down.” He also was the first to find the plane the next morning when he traced Peterson's flight path. He even saved and stored the wreckage.

Holly, born Charles Holley in Lubbock, Texas, September 7, 1936 and just 22 when he died, began singing country music with high school friends before switching to rock and roll after opening for various performers, including Elvis Presley. By the mid-1950s, Holly and his band had a regular radio show and toured internationally, playing hits like “Peggy Sue,” “Oh, Boy!” “Maybe Baby” and “Early in the Morning.” Holly wrote all his own songs, many of which were released after his death and influenced such artists as Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney. He was buried in Lubbock Cemetery in Texas.

He left a wife, María Elena Santiago Holly, who upon hearing of the death of her husband had medical emergency and a miscarriage of her child that she was carrying at the time.

Another crash victim, Jiles Perry “The Big Bopper” Richardson, 28, started out as a disk jockey in Texas and later began writing songs. Richardson’s most famous recording was the rockabilly “Chantilly Lace,” which made the Top 10. He developed a stage show based on his radio persona, “The Big Bopper.” Richardson was survived by his wife Adrienne Joy "Teetsie" Wenner (1936–2004) and four-year-old daughter Debra (1955–2010). His son Jay Perry Richardson (1959–2013) was born two months after his death, being born in April 1959. His son, J.P. Richardson, Jr. went so far as to exhume his father’s body in 2007 to try to dispel myths around the cause of the crash, was just 54 when he died a few years ago from heart problems.

He was buried at Beaumont's Forest Lawn Cemetery.

The third crash victim was Ritchie Valens, born Richard Valenzuela in a suburb of Los Angeles, who was only 17 when the plane went down but had already scored hits with “Come On, Let’s Go,” “Donna” and “La Bamba,” an upbeat number based on a traditional Mexican wedding song (though Valens barely spoke Spanish). In 1987, Valens’ life was portrayed in the movie La Bamba, and the title song, performed by Los Lobos, became a No. 1 hit. Valens was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. He was buried in San Fernando Mission Cemetery next to his mother, Concha, who died in 1987.

Valens said he would send a card and needed an address. Allsup gave him his fishing license and because of that, the thought Allsup had died in the crash.

"Donna" is a song written by Ritchie Valens, featuring the '50s progression. The song was released in 1958 on Del-Fi Records. Written as a tribute to his high school sweetheart Donna Ludwig, it was Valens' highest-charting single.

Singer Don McLean memorialized Holly, Valens and Richardson in the 1972 No. 1 hit “American Pie,” which refers to February 3, 1959 as “the day the music died.”

They had just finished a concert at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa to the joy of around 1.000 fans as part of their Winter Dance Party tour. Holly chartered a plane from Dwyer Flying Service to take the group to their next show in Moorhead, Minnesota, via Fargo, North Dakota, so that they could rest and launder their clothes before the next gig. Limited capacity left band mates to argue over whom would get a seat, with Valens and guitarist Tommy Allsup flipping a coin to decide.

Meanwhile, bassist Waylon Jennings was gracious enough to give his spot to Richardson, who was suffering from the flu. Jennings later said that, after Holly joked with him that he hoped the bus crashed, he told Holly, “I hope your ol’ plane crashes.” Shortly before 1am and just mere miles after their takeoff from Mason City, Iowa, the plane skidded 558 feet across an icy field before ejecting Holly, Richardson and Valens. Only the pilot, Richardson, was still strapped in the plane.

“I was so afraid for many years that somebody was going to find out I said that,” Jennings recalled of his joke. “Somehow I blamed myself. Compounding that was the guilty feeling that I was still alive. I hadn’t contributed anything to the world at that time compared to Buddy. Why would he die and not me?”

It is believed the plane achieved an altitude of several hundred feet. With the bad conditions, it is thought the pilot, 21 years old, simply lost his horizon in the darkness and snow. He thought he was flying level, or going up, when actually the plane was on a downward trajectory.

The right wingtip of the Bonanza hit the frozen ground and sent the aircraft cart wheeling across a cleared cornfield. They hit the ground at around 200 miles per hour. None of them would have seen it coming. Buddy Holly and Richie Valens were tossed forward and landed a few meters in front of where the plane came to rest against a fence. J.P “THE BIG BOPPER” Richardson landed a good 40 feet or more from the others out in the middle of a field. The pilot was crushed inside the cockpit of the plane. All three died from “gross trauma to brain” while the pilot, Peterson died from “brain damage.”

Address: 22728 Gull Ave., Clear Lake, Iowa 50428 (Intersection of 315^th & Gull Ave.)

Hauntings: Many eyewitnesses have reported seeing a phantom plane flying overhead. The object is said to be an apparition, not an actual airplane. Some have also reported hearing voices or faint screams. Ghost lights have been spotted in the field where the plane went down.

Visitors report seeing shadowy figures moving in the distance and music playing far away. Whenever someone tries to get closer, the figures disappear and the tunes abruptly stop.

The GRS investigated the Buddy Holly crash site on July 17, 2021 and the team included: Mike Rosario and Dale Kaczmarek with help from Joe and Tanya Caravello, Mark Roberts and Lisa Houk from the podcast The Insane Asylum.

Equipment setup: Several camcorders were deployed as well as a Melmeter with a proximity probe, K-II meter, Tri-Field Natural EM Meter, digital recorders, Phasma Box and cell phones for a live Facebook session.

Experiments performed: A single Phasma Box session was conducted at the exact site where the plane had crashed against the original wire fence.

Trigger music was played including: “Chantilly Lace”, “Peggy Sue” and “La Bamba.

Personal experiences:

Mike Rosario: Intro, and Equipment Used: For this investigation, we traveled to the Buddy Holly Crash Site located in Clear Lake, Iowa. This took off on Saturday, July 17, 2021, at approximately 12:30pm with Dale Kaczmarek, and a couple members of the TheMarkJoe’s team. Afternoon weather was hot and humid, with skies clear and calm. Equipment used in this investigation were my K-II Meter; a Philips VoiceTracer Digital Voice Recorder, and a DVC 4K Ultra HD 48mp Night Shot Digital Video Camcorder.

Initial Investigation: For this investigation, I was accompanied by Dale and a couple members of the TheMarkJoe’s team, and we pretty much stuck together as an entire group for this investigation out in the field where Holly, Valens, and Richardson’s plane had gone down back in early February of 1959. I began by doing my usual K-II sweeps around the crash site area. I remember that it was slightly high, around a 2.5-2.9mG reading. As far as I know, there weren’t any power lines, telephone poles, or other staticky areas nearby that could alter/spike activity. I had my camcorder stationed directly in front of the memorial, about 5 feet from the border fence line. EVP sessions were conducted in these main areas. Questions asked were what type of flight it was, the call sign/identification number on the aircraft, type of aircraft, their destination, and what names of popular hit songs were sung by these famous individuals, all in the hopes of yielding to some kind of clear, specific response in the end.

Evidence: Upon reviewing all of my evidence, I did not capture any video or audio evidence, mainly in part due to the surrounding distractions of people coming and going to and from the crash site/memorial. A lot of outside contamination was present. Even through headphones, it was kind of difficult for me to listen for any type of distinct voice(s), and/or even residual aircraft noises; hoping to hear at least something that would allude to what happened that fateful day. However, ‘twas an extraordinary investigation, nonetheless, and definitely warrants another exciting trip to investigate the site a bit further. Perhaps being present in the winter months, it may be a bit more active, as the tragedy unfolded in early February.

Dale Kaczmarek: It was quite a walk from the main road to get to the actual crash site. I was able to orientate myself to the original crash scene pictures in order to place the actual location of the crash but also where the three musicians were ejected from the craft.

The day was hot and a little humid and the long walk didn’t help either. While walking up the trail, all of us suddenly felt a very cold spot that was at least 15 degrees cooler than the surrounding air. It seemed to emanate from the corn field to the left and was much localized. A couple of steps and it was gone!

There was an almost constant flow of visitors to the location to take pictures and pay their respects even 62 years later! Most just stayed a few minutes to take pictures while others were genuinely interested in what we were attempting to do and still others just asked us questions about the crash which we were happy to provide.

Evidence collected:

Airplane sound Holly.MP4 – while setting up for an EVP session, suddenly the sound of a small plane was recorded flying overhead on Mark Robert's digital recorder. None of us saw or heard any planes flying overhead the entire time that we were at the crash site.

Bopper Holly.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session, we played Chantilly Lace as trigger music. The device responded with what sounded like, “Bopper.”

Help Holly.MP4 – while conducting an EVP session, a question was asked, “Do you like all the people that come to visit this site?” A very low subtle voice in the background sounds like it says, “Help.”

Strange voice Holly.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session, a strange sounding voice was picked up in the background that we don’t believe came through the Phasma Box.

Words spoken by the Phasma Box: wait and Bopper. There was a lot of background clutter noise and sounds that were unintelligible.

Conclusions: This was another crash site location investigated recently by members of the GRS. Others included Flight 4184, 191, Jim Reeves and Patsy Cline. We plan to visit the Lynyrd Skynyrd and Jim Croce among others.

I wish we could have spent more time here and I would love to return there either on the actual date and time of the crash; 12:55am on February 3^rd. Of course, it would be pretty cold out in Iowa around that time of year.

One of the most amazing pieces of evidence is something that Mark Roberts captured on his digital recorder; the sound of small plane overhead. Absolutely none of us remember seeing or hearing such a plane while we were there. I’m sure that someone would have tagged that EVP and perhaps even filmed the event. One of the paranormal encounters that people have seen is a phantom plane flying overhead!

It’s hard to make a judgment call here whether or not this location is haunted by any of the victims as it was over 60 years ago. We did not collect enough evidence this day to verify the existence of a haunting but it still is a place that every paranormal or music enthusiast should visit someday.