<P> The plane took off normally from runway 17 (today's runway 18) at 12: 55 am Central Time on Tuesday, February 3 . Dwyer witnessed the take - off from a platform outside the control tower . He was able to see clearly the aircraft's tail light for most of the brief flight, which started with an initial left turn onto a northwesterly heading and a climb to 800 ft . The tail light was then observed gradually descending until it disappeared out of view . Around 1: 00 am, when Peterson failed to make the expected radio contact, repeated attempts to establish communication were made, at Dwyer's request, by the radio operator, but they were all unsuccessful . </P> <P> Later that morning, Dwyer, having heard no word from Peterson since his departure, took off in another airplane to retrace his planned route . Within minutes, at around 9: 35 am, he spotted the wreckage less than 6 mi (9.7 km) northwest of the airport . The sheriff's office, alerted by Dwyer, dispatched Deputy Bill McGill, who drove to the crash site, a cornfield belonging to Albert Juhl . </P> <P> The Bonanza had impacted terrain at high speed, estimated to have been around 170 mph (270 km / h), banked steeply to the right and in a nose - down attitude . The right wing tip had struck the ground first, sending the aircraft cartwheeling across the frozen field for 540 feet (160 m), before coming to rest against a wire fence at the edge of Juhl's property . The bodies of Holly and Valens had been ejected from the torn fuselage and lay near the plane's wreckage . Richardson's body had been thrown over the fence and into the cornfield of Juhl's neighbor Oscar Moffett, while Peterson's body was entangled in the wreckage . With the rest of the entourage en route to Minnesota, Anderson, who had driven the party to the airport and witnessed the plane's takeoff, had to identify the bodies of the musicians . County coroner Ralph Smiley certified that all four victims died instantly, citing the cause of death as "gross trauma to brain" for the three artists and "brain damage" for the pilot . </P> <P> Holly's pregnant wife, María Elena, learned of his death from the reports on television . A widow after only six months of marriage, she suffered a miscarriage shortly after, reportedly due to "psychological trauma". Holly's mother, on hearing the news on the radio at home in Lubbock, Texas, screamed and collapsed . Holly's widow did not attend the funeral and has never visited the gravesite . She later said in an interview: "In a way, I blame myself . I was not feeling well when he left . I was two weeks pregnant, and I wanted Buddy to stay with me, but he had scheduled that tour . It was the only time I wasn't with him . And I blame myself because I know that, if only I had gone along, Buddy never would have gotten into that airplane ." </P>

Who gave up his seat to the big bopper